


A New Beginning

by mccloudfan50



Series: Beginning [2]
Category: Star Fox Series
Genre: Action, Adventure, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Biological Weapons, F/M, Falling In Love, Funny, General, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, James McCloud - Freeform, Love, Non-Canon Relationship, Non-Canonical Character Death, One True Pairing, Outer Space, Romance, Ship, Star Fox, True Love, Violence, beginning, great fox, peppy, slippy, space
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-21
Updated: 2017-08-05
Packaged: 2018-01-09 13:38:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 36
Words: 124,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1146634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mccloudfan50/pseuds/mccloudfan50
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Krystal joins team Star Fox shortly after the events of Dinosaur Planet. Her and Fox grow closer every day, but secrets from the past continue to surface as time passes. She may have found a way to save her home planet from disaster, but at what cost?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Thank You

Krazoa Palace; Dinosaur Planet's most sacred place. A mountain hidden in a storm. A winding palace built for the Krazoa, ancient spirits of peace that breathed life into the planet. Sauria.

Here, she awoke. A glass prism surrounded her, holding her trapped and suspended in the rain. She hadn't eaten in days, but the endless storm from the ominous clouds above had quenched her thirst. Her blue fur was sopping wet, but the air was warm enough to keep her from catching her death.

She couldn't move most of her body, but her eyes counted the purple Krazoa Spirits that circled the prison.  _Still four... How much longer?_  She thought. As if on cue, his presence entered her mind. She sighed in relief. It was such a calming, familiar presence... She had never even met him, but there was something familiar about the handsome stranger that had been working so hard to save her.

The sound of an arwing flying to the ground was heard. Krystal closed her eyes and smiled. Knowing he was here brought her hope. The soft ambiance of rain covered the sound of his steps, but she knew where he was going; down into the palace to release another spirit. Another spirit, and another step closer to being freed.

It was several minutes before the long awaited Krazoa Spirit slipped up through the gaping hole below her cage. Only one more, and she would be free.

The gate that had blocked off the final shrine opened. Fox came up from the wind lift at the front of the raised platform where she was imprisoned, and walked over to the now open warp pad. He vanished, presumably reappearing within the shrine.

It was only a few short moments before Fox returned, but to Krystal, it had seemed an eternity.

He hurried to the final release spot, the one place he had yet to go, and the spirit left his body.

"Yeah!" He said in triumph, throwing his fist into the air.

Suddenly, the Krazoa began to circle Krystal with a growing aggressiveness. The black pointed spires below and above the prism that held her captive began to spin faster and faster, slowly closing in the space between them.

"What's going on? You said this would save her!" Fox cried accusingly at the Krazoa. He jogged cautiously toward the raised platform, not sure whether to run or stay put.

As if in response to his angry comment, a Krazoa turned off its circular course and flew directly into Krystal's body, rendering her unconscious.

"No!" Fox yelled, darting toward her. He felt helpless, standing just out of reach as spirit after spirit entered her prone body.

She groaned as the sheer power of the Krazoa overwhelmed her tiny frame. The prison she was in acted as a catalyst to amplify this power, and began to channel it out of her body. Sensing that their powers were being used for evil, the Krazoa fled from her prison - but it was too late.

The ground began to tremble below Fox's feet. He stood below Krystal, on guard for the unexpected. "Wake up!" He cried. "Wake up!"

Krystal winced as she slowly regained consciousness. The black spirals that had supported her prison exploded, snapping her out of her daze. She had only passed out for a few seconds, but to her, it had been an eternity. She had missed something... something big.

But before she could stop to think of what it was, she was falling.

She screamed, realizing now that the many nightmares she had endured of her falling from this prison to her death were about to become a reality.

Air.

Space.

Time.

These had no meaning in the second that she began to fall. One thought and one thought only forced its way into her mind.

No, not a thought... a voice. A man's voice.

" _Don't forget me, princess..._ "

Her focus shifted back to reality as a shining object flitted in front of her eyes. She reacted in an instant, snatching her arms forward and grabbing hold of the pole-shaped object. She recognized it after only a few milliseconds.

It was her staff.

Her weight pulled the end downward, and for a moment she thought she would still fall to her doom below, but then the staff jerked to a halt. Her hands slid to the edge of it with the momentum of her fall, swinging her precariously on the edge of doom.

Her fear was replaced with a flooding relief as she felt herself being partially lifted, and she reached out desperately for solid ground. Her hand grasped the cement edge of the palace roof.

She pulled herself up to her elbow and released the staff, trading it for the safety of the roof.

Another hand rested a few inches from hers. Until that moment, it hadn't occurred to her that she had been rescued by a being.

And that that being could possibly be Fox.

She looked up into his emerald green eyes and held his gaze. There, dangling on the edge between life and death, she fell in love.

She pulled herself up as Fox turned his attention from her to the head of the Krazoa statue that had come off its post with a terrible rumble. It was slowly starting to circle the raised platform where they now stood.

"I am reborn, the mighty Krazoa god, muahahahahaha! Kneel all those that stand before me!" It shouted at the two vulpine, laughing maniacally.

"We will  _never_  kneel to  _you_!" Krystal retorted, stomping her foot and pointing for emphasis.

Fox took the staff that was still in his hands, and with a few twirls for show, he aimed it at the Krazoa head. It occurred to him that there were better weapons than a thin metal rod, and he stepped back, sliding it home into his backpack.

He opted instead for standing defensively with one arm out in front of Krystal.

Her focus was drawn from the looming Krazoa head to the glittering gem in Fox's backpack. "Give me that!" She cried, yanking her possession from his belongings.

"Hey, w-wait!" Fox said in protest as he turned to face her. "Well, thanks for nothing. If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't be standing here at all!" He said, quickly, trying to take her mind off of the staff. He crossed his arms. That staff had grown on him. He wasn't quite ready to give it up.

"My staff!" She cried, ignoring him. She raised the weapon to fire on the escaping enemy. "You're back..."

* * *

**Team Star Fox**

**in**

**A New Beginning**

**Chapter 1**

* * *

Krystal ceased her firing as the Krazoa disappeared through the warp gate, followed by Fox's arwing. She shortened her staff and tucked it under the strap that held her loincloth to her hips. Then she jogged lightly off the raised platform, and laid eyes on a crate that held a SharpClaw symbol.

She struck it once with her staff, but it didn't break. She struck it again with the remains of her energy, and it crumbled to pieces. There was a Puk-Puk egg inside of it.

She fell to her knees and snatched it from the ground, taking a deep bite and savoring the sweet taste. She was quite hungry, having been trapped inside the transparent prism for nearly two days. She soon found another box, and quickly devoured the tasty snack within. After her hunger was duly satisfied, Krystal went down to the lower level.

Immediately upon coming out of the wind lift, a SharpClaw ran at her in an offensive manner, club ready. She extended her staff and took a defensive position.

The SharpClaw stopped in his tracks and covered his face with his hands, afraid she might kill him on the spot. "Please! I not hurt you, just don't kill me!" He said in his raspy voice.

"As long as you're not hurting me, I won't hurt you." Krystal said, shortening her staff but still eyeing him suspiciously. This was a SharpClaw, and they were seldom friendly without a motive.

"You've got staff… Are you Fox McCloud?" The SharpClaw asked.

"No, I'm Krystal." She said with a giggle. "Fox was using my staff. He rescued me from the top of this palace, and I took it back from him." She paused, realizing how selfish it sounded coming from her. "…He flew off in his ship after that Krazoa statue." She explained.

"He defeated General? Is General dead?" The SharpClaw asked eagerly.

"Yes, I believe Fox defeated him. I saw him enter the last shrine, and Fox went in not long after him. I doubt he would have given up his Krazoa spirit without a fight."

The SharpClaw cheered. "Scales is dead!"

"Could you do me a favor?" Krystal asked. "You don't happen to have a ship I could borrow… Do you?"

"SharpClaw have ship at Ice Mountain." He said. "WarpStone help you. Get you there."

"Thanks for your help. And for all of our sake, I hope the General is dead, too." She added, and then walked away.

She found a path that most likely had a warp pad, but a metal gate blocked it off. She spun her staff around, and prepared to hit it. The entire rod glowed a deep blue. She spun around and struck the gate with the end, breaking it to pieces that scattered on the floor.

Down that tunnel and off a short ledge lay an open warp pad. She stepped onto the pad and used it to get to ThornTail Hollow. The WarpStone immediately stopped her.

"And just where do you think you're going?" He asked.

"Ice Mountain?" She said, more inquiring why he was stopping her than telling him where she was going.

"Ha! You can't go to Ice Mountain without bringing me a gift first." He said, secretly hoping he'd get another rock candy. In truth, he hadn't been able to stop thinking about the candy since Fox had first approached him.

"Like what? I don't even have anything." She said.

"Hmm… how about that?" He asked, pointing to the object she had in her hand.

Krystal looked down. "My staff!" She cried. "No, I wouldn't. I could never give it up again. My father gave it to be before he died. It's all I have left of my past. I'd be lost without it."

The WarpStone shrugged. "Well, I'm afraid I can't help you." He said. Krystal sighed.

"Well, alright. I'll find another way to get to Ice Mountain." She said. "But I might be too late, and if I'm too late, I'll never get to thank Fox for saving me, or the planet..." She added.

Then, slowly, she turned and took a step away. And then another.

"Ah...wait, alright. I'll take ye. But it's only for Fox!" The WarpStone said guiltily.

Krystal turned back around and smiled. "Oh, thank you! Now I'll be able to catch Fox before he leaves!" The WarpStone held out his hand, and Krystal carefully climbed on.

"Are you ready to warp?" He asked. Krystal nodded eagerly. Using his powers, the WarpStone teleported her to Ice Mountain. As she disappeared, he sighed sadly. "Nobody ever brings me gifts anymore."

Krystal sighed happily, walking out of the small cave and into the cold, snowy atmosphere of the mountain. She shivered a bit. A large, metal ship was parked in the center of a wide area. Two SharpClaw were arguing about something.

The vixen attempted to sneak past them, but they saw her. "Hey! Stop!" They shouted at her. Krystal gasped, extending her staff.

They stopped in their tracks when they saw her weapon. "Hey… she got the staff… What Scales said?"

"Scales dead…Not say nothing."

"He said, who has stick, kill us…" They whispered to each other. "What you want?"

Krystal sensed what they were arguing about. "I'd like to borrow this ship, if you don't mind." She said, still aiming her staff at them.

"You no borrow ship… it ours!" One of them argued. He immediately realized he'd just disagreed with the creature that had the power to end his life.

Krystal aimed her staff at the one who'd spoken. He flinched. "I  _need_  to borrow the ship. I'll bring it back when I'm done with it." She said.

The SharpClaws said nothing. They just stared at her, afraid that she'd kill them if they so much as spoke.

"Okay, I'm going to take the ship now. If you so much as think of sneaking up on me, I'll use my staff on you." She threatened.

They were beside themselves with fright.

Krystal smiled to herself as she walked onto the ship.  _My, Fox has built up quite the reputation for my staff._ She let out a quiet giggle.  _Hmm… now what? I've got the ship, but how does it work?_  She looked over the controls, trying to remember what her brother had taught her years ago.  _Okay… this one should turn it on…_  she thought as she flipped a switch.  _These must be the controls to steer…_

There was a pad with several numbers and symbols.  _Hm… I think this is how you call someone… but I don't have any information about his ship…_  Krystal carefully lifted the ship out of the small area, and flew toward space.

As she exited the atmosphere, she couldn't help but look off into the distance. No one could see it until they got close, but a small barren planet floated not too far from Sauria, just beyond the Lylat System. Krystal knew by heart where it was. She'd never forget. She couldn't…

She turned her attention to the controls as an asteroid floated by just outside the window. Off to her left, the Krazoa Spirits floated through space, pulling the chunks back into their rightful places. She smiled at the magnificent sight. "He really did it. He saved Sauria."

A grand ship with the symbol of a winged Fox drifted ahead in the planet's orbit.

The Great Fox was just in range of her ship's radar. After messing with the controls, she was able to make the ship send a call of some sort.

Peppy Hare let the call through. "Yes? Who is this? Are you alright?"

"This is Krystal."

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" He asked.

"Nothing's wrong at all. I'm perfectly fine, why do you ask?"

"You sent a distress call, you know…"

"Oh! I'm sorry! I'm…I didn't know how to…"

"Ah, never mind it. As long as you're okay. What do you need?"

"Um… well, is Fox there?" She inquired. As soon as she'd asked, she knew the answer. She sensed his presence farther away. He had gone back to the Krazoa Palace, in search of her. The realization brought a slight grin to her face.

"No, I'm afraid not. He ran into a bit of a problem, but he should be back soon enough. When he gets back, would you like me to leave him a message for you?" Peppy asked.

"Um… well, no, actually." She said, noticing a perfect opportunity. "You can play back messages, yes?"

"That is how the machines work, yes."

"I'd like you to record a message from me, and play it back when you see my ship in the window. If I time it just right... I'll be able to walk in right at the end. No?"

Peppy sat thoughtfully for a moment. "Yes, that is possible. I'll forward you to the recorder in a minute. Is there anything else you need?"

"No, that's all. Thank you." She said.

"I'll keep a look out for you. Here you go, just wait for the beep sound and then start talking."

There was silence for a moment, and then a soft tone.

"Hi, Fox. I really appreciate what you did for me. I'm just so sorry we didn't get much of a chance to talk… I'm left with just one more thing to do." She looked down at the control board and punched a red button on the number pad.

Her call was cut off.

She sighed, wondering if she would be able to time it right.

( **30 minutes later, on the Great Fox** )

"Woohoo hoo! Yeah!" Slippy Toad jumped up and down with glee as he heard that they would all get paid for rescuing Sauria.

"We can finally repair this ship." Peppy said happily.

"And I really need some oil. These joints are not what they used to be." Rob the robot said in his usual monotone voice. His left arm slid out of place, and he quickly put it back.

"And  _I_  can't wait to get back with the Star Fox Team. Hey guys, you don't mind if I hang with you again, do ya?" Falco Lombardi asked as he walked through the Docking Bay door.

Fox paused to think for a minute, giving Falco a teasing look, as if he hadn't noticed the extra arwing resting in the Docking Bay when he returned from Sauria. "Sure, Falco. It's great to have you back." He said finally. Falco gave Fox his usual playful smirk and walked toward the group.

"The Star Fox Team is back together again!" Slippy said happily.

Peppy, who had been staring out the window, suddenly looked up. "Oh, Fox! I almost forgot. I received this message from Krystal."

Fox's face lit up as Krystal's face came up on the holographic projector.

"Hi, Fox. I really appreciate what you did for me. I'm just so sorry we didn't get much of a chance to talk... I'm left with just one more thing to do." The sound of a ship landing on the guest landing pad during the message caused several skeptical looks. Fox's ears twitched as he listened to the ship lock onto the pad and turn off. A few seconds later, the docking bay door opened.

"And that's to say, thank you." Krystal said, smiling as she walked toward him.

Fox was caught off guard. "Well… uh, okay… I mean, sure! No problem!" He blushed lightly, realizing he had just made himself sound like an idiot.

"Ah ha-ha! You're not shy, are you Fox?" Slippy teased the blushing vulpine as Falco elbowed him. Krystal smiled, standing nervously next to Fox.

"My sensors indicate Fox's temperature is rising. Are you okay Fox?" Rob asked in his monotone voice, causing the others to break into laughter.

"I'm gonna be just fine." Fox said, looking at Krystal.

Falco cleared his throat. "Well, now that I'm back, I'm gonna head down and make sure Slip-up hasn't done something awful to my room while I've been gone…" Slippy looked down guiltily. "Slip, I think you might have some explaining to do."

"Err... I think I'd rather stay here." Slippy mumbled. Falco shot him a glare, and the startled frog reluctantly followed him off the bridge.

"This is gonna be good..." Falco snickered, hiding just outside the door.

"Oh, boy. I'd better follow them and make sure they don't get into trouble." Peppy said, leaving the two foxes alone with only Rob, who seemed to get the hint from the other members and turned to fiddle with something on the control board.

"I, um... I just wanted to say thank you, for everything." She paused. "But I do have a question."

"Yeah?"

"Why did you help me? You didn't know who I was. I could've been evil!"

Fox shrugged. "Well… I mean, saving you was a part of the mission. And besides, I couldn't just leave you there to die." He said.

"You're a very kind man, Fox. Thank you." She took a breath and then kissed him on the cheek.

His face flushed and he avoided eye contact. "Uh, y-you're... welcome. Any time."

"Well, Fox, I guess this is goodbye. Could you take me back to my ship?" She asked, walking toward the Docking Bay.

"Goodbye? Yeah, of course." Fox said, disappointed. He walked with her onto the elevator that lead to the Docking Bay, and pressed the according button. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.

"Is there something…you wanted to say?" Krystal inquired, sensing his reluctance as the elevator stopped and the door opened to her borrowed ship.

"No, I... I guess not." Fox said quickly. The regret surfaced immediately.

She smiled, slightly disappointed. "Goodbye, Fox." She turned and walked away with one final glance over her shoulder, and just like that, she was gone.

In that one moment, all Fox could do was stare. He didn't know what it was that had caused him to freeze. Perhaps it was the lighting in the elevator, or the way she smiled, or maybe it was the way her hair was gently tossed when she turned toward him before the ship's door closed. He was just stuck there, standing like an idiot as she left. The elevator returned to its stationary spot by the bridge. He stood there quietly for several minutes before opening the door.

"Fox. Fox!" Falco snapped, walking away from the surveillance area of the control board.

Fox snapped back into reality. "Gah! What!"

"You idiot! You just let her go?! I have never felt so disappointed in you in my life. How about, 'why don't you stay?' or 'Hey, I'd really like it if you didn't leave' or maybe even a 'I'd like to bone you and if you go now I'm going to be depressed for the next year'. But really?" He raised his voice to a mocking tone, "No, I guess not!" He scoffed, speaking normally again. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!"

Fox fumbled for words. "It's too late, I mean, she's gone. I... I guess I'll... I'll just..."

"You sorry excuse for a mercenary. Stop guessing! You can bash in bad guys and face foes a hundred times your size but you can't talk to a beautiful girl? Go after her!" He pointed aggressively towards the Docking Bay. "You obviously like her, so  _do_  something! Don't be like I was with Katt. I let her go because I was stupid. I could've gone after her, but instead I just sat there and watched her leave. Go after her now, or sit there in silence and wish you had for the rest of your life." Falco said.

"Falco, I can't. What would Peppy say?" Fox countered. "My father wouldn't be proud of me holding up our payday just for a girl. This ship needs repairs. Plus, she's got things to do down there. I can't just go and mess it up because I feel like it. It's just a dumb feeling anyway."

"Peppy? Your father? Your father would be damn proud of you if you left right now. I can promise you if you let her get away right now, he's going to turn over in his grave and weep. You're breaking your own dad's heart!" Falco accused. "He probably wanted to have grandchildren some day!"

"But I-"

"But  _what_!" Falco cried.

"I can't just-"

"One more word.  _One more word and I swear..._ " Falco began.

"Falco!"

"YOU GET YOUR ASS OUT THAT DOOR THIS SECOND OR SO HELP ME, MCCLOUD, I WILL BLAST YOUR DAMN KNEECAPS OFF!" Falco shouted, drawing his weapon.

"You wouldn't..." Fox said.

"Oh, really? You wanna wait and find out exactly what I wouldn't do?" Falco asked. "Everyone already thinks we've got prosthetic legs, why don't we make it a real thing?" He cocked the blaster and aimed at Fox's knees.

Fox turned and bolted out into the Docking Bay. Had he been able to hear into the bridge, he would have heard Falco's laughter.

Twenty minutes later, Fox sat in his arwing, headed back down to the surface of Sauria. He didn't know where or how to start searching for her, or if she was even there. All he knew was that he was going to find her and take her back with him, no matter what.

He headed into the atmosphere and turned on his radar. A ship was cooling off at Ice Mountain. It was the same ship she'd been on less than an hour earlier. Fox sighed. He knew it wasn't going to be easy for him to get the guts to invite her back, but it was something he had to do.  _Why am I listening to Falco? I know him better than that. He wouldn't have actually shot me... but maybe he's right. I know I feel something... maybe this isn't such a bad idea._

One thing was certain: if he refused to go, Falco would never let him live it down, and that wasn't something he was looking forward to. He flew over Ice Mountain and landed at ThornTail Hollow.  _She wouldn't stay in Ice Mountain long, not with what she's wearing... I'll bet she came here._ He shut off his ship engine.  _Well, here goes nothing..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everything is final from this point on. It's been 10 years since this started. I'm doing some slight edits to the chapters, making sure that there are no spelling errors, and fixing some grammar mistakes and closing loopholes as well. As far as main plot goes, everything is finished.
> 
> Welcome to the lost corner of the Lylat System.
> 
> Welcome to A New Beginning.


	2. One Thing

Fox landed his arwing and leaped out, landing on his feet with a soft thud. He snapped his head up and scanned the familiar landscape of ThornTail Hollow. The trees, the grass, the river, the familiar blue figure lying peacefully on the riverbed...

His heart skipped a beat.  _It's her!_

He froze, unsure of what to do. The impulse to run behind the nearest tall object and hide hit him, but he resisted... mostly because he couldn't will his feel to move.

He blinked and pulled himself out of his panic enough to think. He wasn't sure exactly why he was so shocked... Partly because she was there, and partly because he hadn't expected to find her so easily. But now that he was here, he wasn't sure what to do.

He took a breath and paused to analyze the situation.

But there was nothing to analyze. He was there, and she was there. That was it.

He turned around and put his hands on his head. "Alright... You can do this, McCloud." He reassured himself. He twisted and looked at her lithe form, curled on her side, facing away from him. She looked to be asleep.

Cautiously, he walked toward her to see. She didn't move. He stood over her and looked at her face. Her eyes were closed.

He took a step back and sighed, and then he sat behind her and stared blankly over the river to the grass on the other side. Knowing she was there was somehow calming.

Krystal shifted lightly, sensing a presence near her. Normally she would have jumped up even from a deep sleep, but this presence was soothing; it held no threat. It took longer for the realization that she wasn't alone to reach her conscious thoughts. It was almost more peaceful than being alone... and then she realized.

She wasn't alone.

She opened her eyes and sat up with a gasp.

Fox jumped to his feet, startled. Then he noticed the frightened look on her face. "I'm sorry! I... I didn't mean to-... I was just-..."

"No, it's okay..." Krystal replied, standing up. "Why are you here? I thought you were leaving."

"I was... I just kind of..." He hesitated. An image of 80 year old Falco teasing him about failing entered his mind.  _I will actually never live this down._  He balled his hands into fists and stiffened. "I-I really like you and I want you to join the team." He blurted quickly.

A grin tugged at the corner of her mouth.

He looked at her with wide eyes, suddenly horrified at what he'd just said.

She sensed his fear. "Well," she began, "it all hinges on one thing."

He let out a quiet sigh of relief that she hadn't immediately rejected him. Her actual response sunk in after a few seconds. "One thing...? W-what thing?" He asked.

She turned around, looking thoughtfully at the sky as if searching for the right words, and then faced him again. She smiled shyly and turned her chin down, looking at him through the tips of her long lashes. "I'll only join... if you'll kiss me."

Fox's jaw dropped. He clamped it shut again. Words and actions alike eluded him in every manner, and all he could do was stare in shock at the beautiful vixen before him.

She giggled. "If you don't want to, I understand. I guess I'll see you around, then. Goodbye, Fox," she said, walking around him and down the path toward LightFoot Village.

"Hey, w-wait!" He said finally, his shock replaced with the fear of her leaving.

She spun and looked at him expectantly.

"Well, I...I didn't say I wouldn't." He said.

She shrugged. "Well, it's not like I have all day... If I'm gonna be staying here I have to set some things up first, like living quarters, you know?"

_But you can't stay here! You're coming with me!_ He thought with despair.

She sensed his thought and smiled.

"Well?" She asked expectantly, waiting for him to take action. He did nothing. "Then you have your answer." She turned and strode off down the path to LightFoot Village, leaving him to stand helplessly and watch her go.

( **Meanwhile** )

Peppy walked on to the bridge were Falco was sitting in a chair, grinning like a proud little boy who'd just won the best game.

He glanced out the window and noticed they were still in orbit. "Why haven't we left?" He asked.

Falco looked up with a shocked but guilty expression on his face. "Uhh..."

"What are we waiting for? Let's get this ship out of orbit and go home!"

Peppy walked toward the controls.

"NO!" Falco cried, jumping out of his chair. Peppy stopped in his tracks, shocked at the bird's reaction. "Fox is down there. You can't leave without him!"

Peppy blinked. "Why is he...the mission's over. He went back?"

Falco coughed and looked down.

"Why did he go back?"

The avian looked up and took a step, clapping his hands together in front of him. "Well... let's just say it's between Fox and...someone else." He said, smirking.

"Krystal?" Peppy asked dryly.

"Bingo."

"I thought she was here."

"Where've you been? She left two hours ago." He said.

Peppy shook his head. "She left with Fox?"

"No, she left on her own. Fox just stood there like a dummy and watched her leave. And then he, uh... had a change of heart, and went after her."

The sound of a ship landing in the docking bay reached their ears.

"Sounds like he's back." Falco said, raising his brows. "Not bad. I'm impressed."

Peppy shook his head again, disapprovingly. "Held up because he couldn't talk to a girl? I'm going to my sleeping quarters before I hurt him..." He said. "Let me know when we're on course to Corneria."

"Will do." Falco said. A few seconds later, the sliding door creaked open. He turned around in his chair with a smug grin. "About time you-..." He trailed off and his grin vanished as he realized that who he'd expected to show up and who was actually standing in the doorway were not the same person.

The person in the doorway was perhaps the last person he ever expected to see again, let alone standing there on the ship on the same day he returned to the team.

And yet by some twist of fate, there she was, plain as day, standing in front of him and looking him right in the eye.

"Hello, Falco."

( **Meanwhile...** )

Fox lowered his head and walked determinedly down the path to LightFoot Village after Krystal. It had taken him an entire seven minutes of pacing back and forth to realize he was going to follow her.

Seven minutes too long.

He walked double time, almost running but not wanting to work up a sweat and end up smelling worse than he assumed he already did, having not had an actual shower the entire time he was on Sauria. When he reached the fence at the point between LightFoot Village and ThornTail Hollow, he thought about vaulting over it. Instead, he turned right and jumped off the ledge into the water. It may not have been a real bath, but the water was cool and clean and would probably help hide the scent of his stress sweat.

He resurfaced with a sigh and swam to the edge, and then he crawled up on his hands and knees and shook his head to clear the water from his fur. He stood up and shook out his hands and legs like a cat. His clothes still dripped with water, but he didn't mind. The warm spring atmosphere of Sauria would dry him off soon enough.

He jogged through the tunnel to LightFoot Village, hoping to dry himself off and catch up a few of his lost minutes at the same time. When he arrived, the two sentry SharpClaw who had been patrolling the village were sitting lazily by the side of the path. They barely even acknowledged that Fox was there.

He stopped and looked at them. "Have you guys seen a girl walk by here? A fox, with blue fur?" He asked. They stared at him blankly. He took out his blaster, charged a shot, and fired into the ground a few feet away from them. Dirt flew in all directions from the mini-crater, splashing onto the SharpClaw. "Let's try this again." He pointed it to the one on the left.

The SharpClaw, in unison, pointed toward Cape Claw.

"Thank you." Fox holstered his blaster and walked toward the maze, glad that he had thought to bring a weapon. He rounded the last corner in the maze and whipped it out again, blasting the annoying plant on the wall that had only yesterday smacked him flat in the face. Twice.

"Who's in pain now, you spiky slithering bastard?" He smirked at the mess of goo that had just recently been a semi-sentient plant. Then he walked past it and into the giant well that led to Cape Claw. He had to wonder how the dinosaurs had designed and built such a massive structure... and why. But the answer would have to wait. Right now, he had to find Krystal. He was pushing the patience of the team. He knew they were waiting to get back to Corneria. There were repairs to be done on the Great Fox, and new supplies to be bought, and the concept of amenities had been reduced to sharing the last tube of toothpaste and one more roll of toilet paper.

He set his mind to determination, and planned exactly what he would do and say.

Step 1: Find her.

Step 2: Kiss her.

Step 3: Take her back.

That simple. He planned out how he would do it as he climbed down the ladder into the well.

He would walk up to her and say, "Listen, you're coming with me and that's that!" And kiss her right there. Then he would take her by the arm and lead her off into the sunset. Too cliche?  _Ah, screw it. Maybe she likes cliche._

The soft sound of the ocean waves reached his ears as he climbed the ladder to Cape Claw. He took a long breath of the fresh ocean air and proceeded forward. He rounded the bend and looked over the familiar beach area. Not much had changed in a single day. The sun was just setting over the horizon. He walked down the SharpClaw-free path, down the wooden ramp to the beach area.

The sky had turned a deep shade of purple as the sun disappeared beyond the landscape. The calm waters reflected the blue and purple hues, setting an ethereal beauty about the little ocean paradise.

He looked up to where the HighTop should have been and chuckled. It appeared the dinosaur had finally grown tired of his prison and tore down a decent-sized chunk in his escape. There, on the part that was still standing, he caught sight of Krystal. She was sitting at the far edge, overlooking the expansive ocean. He swallowed the butterflies in his gut and walked over to her. She didn't look up. He sat next to her.

"It's so beautiful..." She said softly. He sighed. She glanced at him. "So, you followed me."

"Yea."

"Why?"

He was silent. Every ounce of his 'just do it' plan dissolved into thin air.  _Cuz I think you're beautiful and amazing, and I saved the world so I could see you, and I'm using the fact that you're a pilot and a fighter as an excuse to invite you to my team when really I just want to be close to you, and I want to kiss you more than anything but I'm a massive pansy. I can bring down the King RedEye and Andross, but I can't tell you how I feel. How does that answer your question, Krystal?_  He thought, sighing to himself.

She smiled, having heard every last word of that thought.

And then he topped it with one last thought.  _I'm so glad she can't read my mind... Damn, I didn't actually answer her question._

Krystal snickered. He looked over. "What?" He asked.

She smirked. "Fox, have I told you yet that I'm a telepath?"

The blood drained from his face. "A...a...telepath...?" He gulped.

"Mhm! It means I can read minds." She said cheerfully.

His face went from pale to red, and back to pale. "You...read minds?" He said weakly. 3 different profanities went through his mind at once.

She giggled. "I certainly do."

"Have... you read...  _my_ mind?" He asked.

She grinned mischievously. "Perhaps..."

His face returned to its reddened shade.  _Oh god... oh god... oh shit... no this is NOT HAPPENING._

Krystal giggled.

Fox blushed again.

" _Well?_ " He nearly jumped off the edge. The sensation of her voice in his head sent tingles down his spine, down to the tips of his fingers and toes. His jaw hung open from the mere shock of it. He realized he was gaping at her and turned away, blushing deeply. " _Are you going to kiss me, or are you going back to your ship alone?_ " He blinked, looking back at her. The slight smile on her lips, the twinkle in her eyes, the tilt of her head, and the perfect posture she had while sitting. He couldn't take it anymore.

He swallowed the knot in his gut, reached his hand behind her head and pulled her lips to his.

( **Meanwhile...** )

"Katt?" Falco gaped at the pink feline before him.

"No, bird-brain, clearly I'm your leader and captain, Fox McCloud." She said sarcastically with a smirk.

He blinked. "You're...here?"

"No, of course not, silly. I'm part of your imagination." In truth, Katt was as surprised to see him as he was to see her, if not, more. But she would never let on a weakness such as surprise. Not after all she had gone through... She looked away from his enticing violet eyes and walked across the bridge. "Where's Fox?" She demanded without looking at him.

"He's on the planet chasing after... some chick."

"A girl? That's new. Never knew Foxie would grow balls so fast. Sounds interesting. Who is she?"

"You wouldn't know her. Some chick named... Christine or something. I don't know." He said.

"Huh. Well, I'm gonna go see how bad Slip-Up messed with my room while I've been gone." She exited into the hallway that led to the living quarters.

Falco sat stunned for another minute. He grabbed a headset and sent a transmission to Fox.

It beeped twice before he picked up.

"Yeah?" He sounded irritated.

"Fox! You gotta get back here. Katt's back!"

"Katt? You serious?"

"Yeah! I swear. I mean I heard a ship dock and I thought it was yours. But then she walked in..."

"What is that?" A feminine voice asked.

"It's a transmitter. It keeps me in contact with the ship." Fox said, away from the mic. "I'll be there shortly. Fox out." He ended the transmission in the middle of Falco's protest.

"That's interesting." She said.

"Shall we go?" Fox asked.

"Go where?" She inquired.

"To...the ship?"

She smiled mischievously. "Your ship? Whatever for?"

"But...you said..."

She giggled. "I told you, I'll only join if you kiss me."

"But... I thought I..."

She laughed. "That? That wasn't a kiss." He stared blankly. " _This_  is a kiss." She pulled him close by his vest and kissed him deeply. Butterflies erupted wildly in his stomach.

He froze for a split second, and then he melted into it. She pulled away after a brief few seconds.

"Well? Are you going to kiss me or not?" She asked. He closed the small distance and kissed her passionately, slipping his right arm behind the small of her back. Her hands reached up to grip his shoulders, and quite suddenly pushed him back. He longed for another kiss, but she turned away with a smirk and a slight blush beneath her fur. "Well, Fox. I suppose I'm going with you."

She stood up, leaving him sitting on the dock. "Are we going?"

He nodded awkwardly. "Yep. Just... one second." He closed his eyes in a grimace, attempting to think of awkward things, gross things, terrible things... anything besides the beautiful woman who had just been kissing him. He took a deep breath. "All good." He stood up.

"You know... just because I let you kiss me, it doesn't mean I'll do it again. I was testing you, to see what sort of a man you are before I rushed off to join your team."

His face reddened. "Oh...of course, I understand."

She giggled. "Whenever you're ready, Fox."

They walked in silence together back to ThornTail Hollow. When they arrived, it was dark.

Fox opened his cockpit. "Blast it." He said as the fuel light flashed. "I'll be right back. I'm out of fuel."

Krystal stood patiently and watched him as he splashed across the river and scurried down into the ThornTail Store.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -insert something interesting here-
> 
> Falco: What is it, writer's block?
> 
> Me: I mean, I finished the actual story. Now I just have to actually be entertaining and funny, instead of... whatever the crap was that I put here before... Oh god, I'm not funny at all. *cries*


	3. Out of Gas

Fox stepped up over the annoying ledge and walked down the ramp into the underground store. "I still don't see how a  _dinosaur_  can get in here..." He muttered, walking straight to the room with Fuel Cells. He checked the scarab bag he still had in his backpack. There were 87 scarabs. He turned to Shabunga. "How much for ten fuel cells?"

The shopkeeper took out his price scroll. "You pay this much." He said, showing the number 100.

"How about Eighty?" Fox asked.

"No! That's too low."

"How about eighty three?"

"No! That's too low."

Fox winced. "Eighty seven?"

"I don't need business from cheapskates! Get out!" Shabunga snapped.

"Okay, okay! How about nine cells for eighty-seven scarabs?" Fox asked.

Shabunga opened his scroll. "You pay this much." It showed 90.

"Eighty-seven." Fox said.

"No! That's too low."

"Fine! I'll buy eight!"

"You pay this much." Shabunga's scroll opened, reading 87.

Fox's eye twitched.

He imagined pulling out his blaster and shooting the creature in the face, but rather than risk having to pull 10 fuel cells out of thin air, as there was only one on display, he opted for storming out of the store with a fit of imaginative curses instead.

"...AND THEN I'LL TAKE HIS STUPID SCROLL AND SHOVE IT UP HIS..." He paused mid-rant, fist halfway in the air, as he looked up at the vixen blocking his view of the sky. She sat perfectly poised on top of the brick wall, smirking at him.

"Having trouble?" She teased.

He slowly lowered his fist and looked down.

"Give me the scarabs, I'll see if I can convince him. How many do you need?"

"Ten..." He muttered.

Krystal hopped off the ledge and took the scarabs from him. She walked into the store. Shabunga appeared before her.

"Welcome to my store! Feel free to look around at the many wonderful items within these walls. I have food, special goods, and many maps. And if you like to play games, then enter the scarab room! Yessss... Oh, and that's the exit."

"Thank you, but I'm just looking for-..."

"Now..." The creature interrupted. "If you find something that you like, then choose that item, and we'll discuss a price. Is that clear?" He asked, showing the vixen his scroll.

"Yes, but-..."

"Good! Now hurry and choose something or get out!"

Krystal huffed as the mystical floating bastard vanished. She walked into the first room on her left. Seeing a fuel cell, she walked over and touched it.

"You pay this much." The floaty bastard said, holding up his scroll with 10 scarabs.

"I need ten." She said.

"You pay this much." He said, closing his scroll and reopening it. It read 100.

"I don't have that much, but it's really important, you see..."

"You pay this much." He interrupted. The scroll read 100.

"It's for Fox. Fox McCloud. The guy who saved this planet? The reason you're alive?"

"You pay this much." The scroll read 100.

"Can I buy nine with eighty seven scarabs?"

"No! That's too low."

"It's only three scarabs short!" She cried. She narrowed her gaze as she realized that this thing didn't have a thought pattern. It didn't have a presence at all. She drew her staff. "What are you?" She asked.

"You pay this much." He replied. His scroll read 90.

"Eighty seven or I blow your head off!" She snapped.

He blinked with empty eyes, as if computing her request. "...You pay this much." He said, holding open the scroll with 87 scarabs.

Krystal sighed and put away her staff. She took a bag of fuel cells out of his hand and replaced it with her bag of scarabs. Then she left the store and returned to Fox.

"Did you get them?" He asked.

"I only got nine." She said. "That scaly bastard wouldn't let me buy ten."

Fox frowned thoughtfully. "We should still make it. If we reach the proximity alert area, someone will be out to pick us up." He climbed the wall and turned to offer his hand to Krystal. She was gone.

She tapped him on the shoulder. "My, you're a slow climber." He gave an awkward half grin. She laughed and turned toward the arwing.

He watched her in awe for a moment before snapping out of it and following her. The sky was dark and the stars were out. Krystal looked up at the crescent moon and smiled.

Fox loaded the fuel cells into the tank and opened the cockpit. "Ready?" He asked.

"Not quite..." She said, taking one last look around the Hollow. Although it wasn't truly her home, it reminded her of it. But unlike her home, this planet was full of life and hope. The thought made her feel sad. She pushed the feeling down, reminding herself that she was saying goodbye for a better life, and turned back to Fox. "Alright. I guess I'm ready now."

He climbed up and offered his hand. She took it with a smile and allowed him to help her onto the wing. Then he stepped in and sat down in the pilot's seat.

"Where will I sit?" She asked, looking at the small, 1-man cockpit. He grinned and patted his lap. She gave him a shocked look and her cheeks reddened beneath her blue fur.

"There's no where else to go. Unless you'd prefer the cargo hold..." He winced.

"Very well. Look away, then."

"Wha-... oh." He turned his head quickly to the side to avoid glimpsing up her loincloth as she climbed in. "Alright, I'm going to give you the basics of Arwing Flight Training." Fox said. She listened intently. "This is to turn it on," he flipped a switch. "This is to start up the engine and G-Diffusers," he pressed a grey button, "and this joystick is to steer you. Pull back when you're on the ground to take off. If I hadn't forgotten to refuel I would let you get a hand at steering..." He said.

"That's alright. I'm sure I'll get plenty of other chances." She said.

He smiled as he gently steered the ship up above the Hollow and aimed for space. "This is to exit the atmosphere of a planet." He pressed another button. The ship shot forward toward the atmosphere. Krystal gasped in awe, looking out the window to her left as the planet below grew from massive to small in a matter of minutes.

Fox sighed in relief as the Great Fox came into sight. He coasted easily through a few asteroids and into open space as the fuel light chimed. He checked the radar. "Thirty-four parsecs." He said.

Krystal gasped. "Is that a lot?" She asked.

He chuckled. "It's not too far... but I'm not sure we can make it there. According to the system, we're going to run out less than 4 parsecs from the ship. We might get stuck for a while...but someone'll come out eventually to pick us up. The life support systems are functioning, so don't worry about running out of air or anything."

A message flashed on the screen. "Warning: Low fuel. Engine will shut down in three minutes."

He typed in the number for the Great Fox's communications system. After five short beeps it cut to an automated message. "The vessel you are trying to reach is not responding. Please call again later." Fox scoffed. "I don't  _want_  to call later." He dialed again. Same reaction. He cursed under his breath.

"Relax. I'm sure it'll be fine." Krystal said softly.

The screen lit up with red. "Warning: Low fuel. Engine will shut down in one minute."

Fox tried once more to contact the Great Fox.

No answer.

"Blast it all." He muttered. "Hold on." He switched off the G-Diffusers and pressed the boost with one hand, wrapping his free hand around Krystal's waist. With a hard jolt, the ship shot forward, closing the distance between them and the ship.

"Warning: Fuel empty. Engine will shut off. Engaging emergency brakes."

"No!" Fox cried. The ship jerked to a stop. He grunted as the G-Force pulled the two forward. He looked out the window at the looming ship, only a few yards off, and swore. "Damn the brake system! I had a straight shot!"

Krystal winced. "Someone will see us here... right?" She asked.

"As long as they aren't pulled off by the orbit path..." He replied. The ship was slowly but steadily floating to the right. Fox scoffed. "We're so close!" He cried helplessly.

"I'm sure it'll be alright, Fox. Your team will notice your absence."

"Yeah, you're right... It's just so frustrating." He sighed again. His breath turned to a foggy cloud that slowly dissipated.

Krystal shivered. "Space is cold..." She said.

"The heater takes fuel to run..." Fox took off his vest and handed it to her. "Put this on... I'm sorry it's not much."

She slipped her arms through the vest and zipped it. Where the vest was too small for Fox's muscular frame, it fit Krystal's delicate form perfectly. "Thank you..." She involuntarily shuddered at the cold that had suddenly flooded the small space. Fox slipped his arms around her and pulled her to his chest. She didn't say anything. His intentions were pure; he only wanted her to be warm. She turned sideways on his lap and buried her arms and face in his warm chest. He gently stroked her arm.

He wanted so desperately to rush her onto the Great Fox, where it would be warm and cozy at the touch of a button. But here they were, stuck in an arwing, so close yet so far. It was enough to drive him mad.

He listened to her soft, peaceful breathing and closed his eyes. The cold was enough to make him want to crawl inside himself and hibernate. He rested his chin on Krystal's head. Unconsciousness threatened to overtake him.

_No...I can't let...can't fall asleep...Krystal..._

( **Meanwhile** )

Katt stood in the center of her room, staring at the familiar space. It was unchanged. In eight years, the only difference was the thick layer of dust that covered every surface. The lightbulb didn't work, but she preferred star light to the florescent bombardment that the Cornerians called light.

A soft tone reached her ears. It was coming from the bridge.  _Slippy should get that..._  She thought. A few seconds later, it was gone.

It buzzed again. She had half a mind to go down and answer it. It silenced after a while.

"Katt." She turned to the voice. It was Falco. "Katt, I..." He trailed off. He hated to admit that he had missed her... but in truth, she was the reason he had left. He longed to tell her that. He walked up to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. Emotion flooded his chest. He did not resist the urge to lean in and plant a kiss on her soft lips.

She turned away, and his beak touched her cheek instead. "A lot of things have changed, Falco. I'm over it. I wouldn't have come back otherwise."

He clenched his teeth in silent rage.

"That's just how luck goes, I suppose. Now that you finally have feelings for me, I've moved on."

He stepped back. "I don't have feelings for you." He lied. He knew it was a lie. She knew it was a lie. He knew she knew it was a lie. And yet he bothered to say it anyway. She didn't reply. He turned and walked away with an exasperated fling of his arms.

A familiar throb tugged at her heart, and she smiled wistfully. A year ago... nay, even a week ago, she would not have turned and rejected him. She would have taken his affection and begged for more. She would have sat quietly and obeyed his every whim. But not now. She knew better. She had promised herself during her flight that she wouldn't show her feelings. And as she had stepped onto the bridge and laid eyes on his cocky attitude, his insanely large ego, she realized there were no feelings left to hide.

Or at least that's what she told herself. But beneath all the lies was the Katt she feared above all; the Katt who would do anything for him. The Katt who was crushed by his carelessly thrown insults. The Katt who would melt like butter in a frying pan at his glance. The Katt who spent hours mulling over some random thing he'd said, trying to decipher if he was as infatuated with her as she was with him.

No. That Katt was gone. This Katt would never think of obsessing over Falco. This Katt would never-...

The beeping had taken up again. She walked swiftly out to the bridge. "For God's sake, what!" She snapped. It was the proximity alarm. She walked up and checked the comm system. 2 Missed Calls from Fox's Arwing. She pressed a key to return the call and waited.

No answer.

"Well, fine. You sit there calling and calling and when I try to call you back, you're suddenly not available. Well excuse me for not calling  _exactly_  when you need me, Foxie." She grumbled. She tried again.

"The vessel you are trying to reach is currently-" She cut off the automated voice with a button.

"Alright then." She turned around and caught sight of a red light flashing. It was the proximity alarm. She walked over to the radar and flipped a switch. The hologram in the center of the bridge shuddered and coughed to life. A three dimensional image of the Great Fox appeared. There was an arwing sitting idly by the back end. She stared for a moment. "What the hell is he doing...?" She asked aloud.

She typed a few things into the main controls. The image zoomed to the arwing, and its current status lined up beside it.

Weapons: Offline

Engine: Offline

Comm: Offline

Fuel: Empty

Oxygen: 83/100

Power: Emergency Only

She sighed. "The things you get yourself into..." She walked into the docking bay and grabbed her helmet before hopping gracefully into her pink ship and starting the engine. She scanned over her status:

Weapons: Offline

Engine: On

Comm: On

Fuel: 48/120

Oxygen: 67/100

Power: On

She punched the boost and shot out of the docking bay, making a large loop to come around by the idle arwing. She set up her comm to radio them on the emergency network. "You damn well better pick up, or I'm not towing your ass in." She said under her breath. It rang once...

Twice...

Three times...

There was a click and the sound of shuffling. "He...hello?"

"Fox?" She inquired. It had sounded like a female voice.

"Fox...Fox, wake up," the feminine voice said.

"...wha...Oh." That was Fox.

"Fox!" Katt snapped.

"Gah! What!" He cried, snapping to attention. He blinked through the fog of the cold and forced his mind to focus. "Katt?"

"Damn straight! What in the hell are you doing?"

"Thank God. I'm out of fuel. Can you give us a tow to the Docking Bay?" He said quickly.

"What's the magic word?" She taunted.

"Katt! God damnit we're freezing our tails off out here! Do it now!"

"Okay, okay!" She said in surrender. "Who's 'we?'"

"Newest team member. Soon to be newest  _frozen_  member if you don't hurry."

"Alright!" Katt cried, firing her tow cable. It smacked into the front nose of Fox's ship and locked onto the metal hull by magnet.

Fox turned around and looked up at the pink ship. An asteroid twice its size was barreling toward it. "Katt, look out! To your right!"

She screamed, jerking the joystick and barrel rolling in attempt to avoid it. The back end of her ship was smashed by the massive rock. "Shit!" Her ship was shoved away. It jerked around, pulled by the tow cable that was still attached. "Fox!" She cried.

Fox gasped as the arwing's nose jerked around to face Katt. Krystal shrieked.

The hull smacked into the back end of the Great Fox with a loud crash. Curses rang out over the comm from both ends.

"Are you alright?" Katt cried.

"Yeah, we're..." There was silence. Another curse. "My cockpit's cracked. We're losing oxygen, fast."

Katt swore again. "Hang tight, Fox. You're not dying today. Not by my watch. Katt out." She ended the transmission and punched the boost. Nothing happened. She checked her status.

Boost Engine: Severely Damaged

Main Engine: Damaged

She yelled a string of foul words. "Come on!" She pushed the ship forward and toward the docking bay. "You can be damaged after I'm in the docking bay with my still breathing captain, you piece of crap!" She cried. It occurred to her that she could radio the Great Fox. She switched on her emergency signal, but continued steering her ship around, just in case. "Hold on, Fox..."

In his arwing, Fox searched frantically around the cockpit. Krystal's eyes were wide, sensing his panic. Air was slowly but steadily escaping through the six inch crack in the cockpit glass. Fox grabbed the first aid kit and pressed a bandage against it.

"Warning: Oxygen Low." The computer said, accompanying the alarm tone that had started up.

"I know!" Fox yelled. He checked the depleting gauge. It wasn't draining as fast, but the levels were still steadily decreasing at a much higher than normal rate. He ripped off a piece of medical tape and taped the bandage over the crack. It was still hissing. He tore and placed several more pieces of tape. "This isn't happening..."

Krystal was on the edge of tears, but she held them back. She had to stay strong. Her determination was disappearing faster than the oxygen. "What if she doesn't...what if we...?"

"Don't...don't say that. We'll make it. We have to make it."

She stared at him for a moment, and then she kissed him square on the mouth. He blinked. "For luck..." She said.

He leaned in and kissed her deeply, and pulled away after a brief few seconds. "We need all the luck we can get..." He said, pressing the bandage tightly over the arwing's wound. The air was noticeably thin now. He took a deep, slow breath, and held it as long as he could before slowly letting it out. Krystal watched him and caught on. Conserving oxygen... It wasn't a bad idea in their situation.

He stared with growing despair at the pink ship that towed them as the air grew thinner. In order to aim them correctly into the hangar without crashing, she would have to loop around again far enough to pull them in a straight line behind her. With her boosters out of operation and her engine damaged, it would take more than twice as long as it would have with her ship at full capacity.

"Come on...please... you have to make it!" The feline cried, pushing the engine to the max. Tears of desperation clouded her vision. She blinked them away. Her heart was beating fast enough to pump the ships engine by itself. "Please... please, Fox. Don't die on me now... hold on. Just hold on..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe I'm actually satisfied with my own work. It's a miracle. That being said... if anyone notices something wrong, do please point it out. For my own sanity.
> 
> Falco: Your what?
> 
> Me: Oh, shut it.


	4. Goodnight

Katt bit her lip anxiously as her ship stuttered and coughed and shook in effort. "Come on!" She cried desperately. "Almost there..." She had almost reached the docking bay gate. Another few yards, plus the time it would take to reel in the stray arwing behind her. "Hang on, Fox..." She whispered.

Fox pressed a button and a single oxygen mask fell. He took a deep breath and held it, switching the mask to Krystal's muzzle. She gasped hungrily at the stale oxygen that had more than likely been in the reserve tank for years. Only a few more minutes and they would be safe. At least there was the reserve. Fox took another breath and handed it again to Krystal. She was still on his lap, staring into his eyes. The gravity stabilizer had switched off, and he had to hold her down on his lap to keep her from tumbling about the cockpit. Her wide blue green eyes were filled with fear.

_The oxygen is getting low..._

He checked the gauge. There was only enough in the tank for four more breaths. Krystal sensed his concern and read his thoughts. She waited until her lungs were burning to take another breath. Fox took one last one and made up his mind not to breathe until they pulled into the docking bay. It was so close... Katt's ship entered the force field and the lengthy tow cable began to reel them in. He felt his resolve weakening as his chest throbbed for much needed air.

Krystal covered her mouth and winced. She was struggling.

One breath left.

Fox pressed the mask over her face. She gasped in the last of the oxygen.

Thirty feet left.

Fox's lungs spasmed. He coughed and gasped, but there was not enough oxygen in the air. Black spots danced across his vision.

Twenty feet.

His vision blurred further as two soft hands touched his face. Her fingers closed over his nostrils and her lips pressed against his. Air flooded his lungs as she exhaled into his mouth. The spots faded and he stared as she lost consciousness in his arms.

Ten feet.

His lungs spasmed again and he exhaled.

Five feet.

His vision blurred again and the black spots threatened to consume him.

There was a click and a soft hiss as the arwing's cockpit opened and filled with fresh air. He gasped for air and nearly chocked on it. "Katt!" He cried in a hoarse whisper.

"Krystal!" The feline cried. She grabbed the unconscious vixen and dragged her limp body out of the arwing and onto the floor of the Docking Bay. For her height and build, Katt was surprisingly strong. She took a deep breath and pulsed pressure through her hands to the vixen's chest. "Come on, breathe!" She cried, continuing with the emergency routine.

Fox lurched forward and coughed as air flooded his lungs and his blood. He jumped up but was caught by his seat belt. He quickly unbuckled it and scrambled out of the arwing, unceremoniously landing on his hands and knees. He crawled over to Krystal and Katt.

"Give her mouth to mouth." Katt said.

"What?"

"Just do it!" She snapped.

"Alright!" Fox leaned over her pale face and carefully tilted her head back. He pinched her nose shut and took a deep breath, and then he placed his mouth over hers and forced air into her lungs.

No response.

"Again!" Katt commanded.

Fox took another breath, and again he put his lips to hers and pushed air into her lungs.

Her eyes shot open and she tensed. He leaned back to give her space. She rolled over and coughed several times in a row, gasping for air when she could. Fox moved to her side and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his lap. She closed her eyes, still coughing, as her breath came in short gasps. She turned into his chest and breathed deeply.

All three were silent as an air of solace spread over them.

Krystal was the one to break the silence as she stood from Fox's arms and noticed the pink feline. "Katt?"

"Hi, Krystal." Katt grinned as she stood up.

"It's been so long!" The two girls embraced.

"Wait...you two know each other?" Fox asked.

"No, we're complete strangers who are hugging because we have never met before." Katt said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Krystal laughed. "Katt came to my planet several years ago, before it was destroyed. She was the one who perfected my Lylatian."

Katt smirked proudly. "And Krystal taught me Saurian. Although, I'm a bit rusty, I'm not sure if I can still remember anything..."

"So...when you left, you went to Krystal's planet?"

"Cerinia, yes. It's Sauria's twin planet. Only, without talking dinosaurs..." Katt explained. She smirked again at Fox's puzzled look. "Don't think about it too hard, you might hurt yourself." She winked. "So, are either of you going to explain how you ended up in that empty arwing... _alone_?" She asked, emphasizing the last word.

Fox blushed at her dirty hint.

Krystal missed the entire exchange. "Well, Fox asked me to join his team, and... I couldn't refuse. But the arwing was low on fuel, and... we didn't exactly make it all the way." She said. "It's a good thing you got to us when you did.

"So you're joining the team? That's...that's awesome! That's great! I'm so glad you're alive!"

"So are we!" Krystal said with a giggle. "We might have frozen if you hadn't come alone when you did."

The door opened and Falco stood in the elevator. "What's this...? Some kind of, meeting?"

"You could call it a reunion of sorts." Katt said. "We just got here."

He looked over at the two damaged ships. "The hell happened there?"

Fox winced. "Accident... We'll get them repaired when we reach Corneria."

"We're not going to reach Corneria if we don't get a move on. The whole team's been waiting on you, Foxie."

"I'm here, now. We're all ready." He said.

"I wasn't actually expecting you to come back with her. I'm impressed. Uh... unrelated, but if you see Slippy... I'm not here. I may have bet against you." He said, turning around and stepping back into the elevator.

The others waited a moment for him to be gone, and then followed suit. The door closed, and a few seconds later it opened to the bridge.

"So, Fox, where's she gonna sleep?" Katt asked.

"In Ka-...uhh..." He trailed off. It had just occurred to him that since Katt was no longer MIA, her room would be occupied. He swallowed.

Katt chuckled. "Guess you've got yourself a new roommate, huh?"

Fox cleared his throat and tried to appear calm. "Well... the master room has a couch. It would only be for one night. Once we bring the Great Fox back in to the C.S.S. we can have another room built along with the other upgrades."

Katt smirked. "Uh huh,  _sure_..." She winked. "Well, I'll suppose I'll leave you lovers alone... I've gotta find Slippy, and help him catch a little birdie." With that, she left the bridge.

Fox frowned. "Well... I wasn't planning on Katt being here, but... I guess it's kind of a good thing she was. Until we reach Corneria, which should end up being sometime tomorrow evening, I guess you can just sleep in my room. It's...size-able... and I'll let you have the bed. There's a couch across the room. I can just sleep there." He said.

She hesitated to make him leave his own bed, especially given that he had been sleeping uncomfortably on Sauria without a real bed. But she also sensed that his mind was made up, and that he would feel much worse forcing her to sleep on the couch. "Thank you, Fox. You're very kind."

He led her to his room. The sheets were dirty, so he pulled off the blankets and put on clean ones for her.

"Thank you." She said.

"Do you need something to sleep in?" He asked.

She blushed a little and nodded. "I'm afraid so..."

He smiled. "Don't be shy. If you need something, just ask." He walked to the short black dresser in the corner and drew out a large white t-shirt and some black sweat pants with a drawstring.  _Heh, who knew I'd actually find a use for these one day?_  He thought, handing them to her. "The bathrooms there, if you'd like to change." He said, pointing to a door to the left of the couch. She smiled and closed it behind her.

Fox walked to his dresser and took out a pair of blue and white plaid boxers. He shed his uniform and tucked it lazily inside the drawer without folding it, and then he slipped into the boxers. He opened the small closet door and took out a top sheet. He unfolded it entirely, and then folded it in half and tucked it into the couch, opening it at the top corner. Then he went back to the closet and got a blanket, and laid it over the sheet. Lastly, he took one pillow from his king-size bed and tossed it on the end he planned his face to go.

The bathroom door opened a few seconds later and Krystal emerged in her borrowed clothes, carrying the bundle of her tribal outfit, her sandals, and her jewelry. She set the bundle down carefully next to the bed and glanced over to Fox. Her eyebrows raised in surprise. He was nude except for his boxers. She had not seen so much of a man's body in a long time, much less such an attractive one. She allowed her eyes to drift over his well-toned muscles.

"Is there anything you need?" He asked, oblivious.

She smiled and shook her head.

"Are... are you hungry at all? I was going to get a midnight snack..."

She paused for a moment. In all the excitement, she had forgotten about food. As if on cue, her stomach growled. She blushed and giggled. "I... guess I am a little hungry.." He grinned and chuckled.

"Not sure if there's anything really good left, but we'll find out. Our rations will be restored tomorrow once we arrive, so we'll have something good and fresh then."

"That's alright, Fox. I'm not a picky eater." She said.

She followed him down the hall and into the kitchen. He opened the door and they walked in.

The first thing they saw was Falco's scantily clad rear-end bulging out of the fridge, covered only by white briefs. Krystal gasped and drew her hand to her mouth. Her cheeks turned a deep shade of red.

Fox didn't miss a beat. "Hey, butt-boy, find anything good?"

The half-nude avian jerked upright, smacking the back of his skull against the top of the fridge with a terrific bang and a shriek. He turned around with an irritated expression, holding a bag of cheddar cheese to his head with one hand and a beer can with the other. His eyes widened as he saw Krystal's shocked face. Both hands immediately moved to cover his crotch. "Yeah, whatever..." He said, grumbling to himself as he made a quick exit.

Krystal's face was still quite red.

Fox opened the fridge and sighed at the mostly bare shelves. "So... we could make a sandwich?"

"Whatever you'd like." She replied.

"It's your choice." He argued.

"It doesn't seem like there is much of a choice," she teased, "but a sandwich is fine."

He took out some bread and mayonnaise. "We're out of mustard. ...and meat." He said.

She giggled. "Fox, I don't know what mustard even is."

"Fair point." He put the mayo back in the fridge and checked the cupboards. "There's some peanut butter, do you like that?"

"That's perfectly fine, Fox."

"Sadly, there's no jam." He took out a knife and spread peanut butter on two pieces of bread, and then matched them with the plain ones. He put the "sandwiches" on a plate. "Dinner is served, madam." He said in a mock formal tone, bowing and handing her a plate. She giggled.

"Why, thank you, kind sir." She said, taking the plate. They ate the sandwiches standing in the kitchen, and then returned to Fox's room.

"Goodnight, Fox." Krystal said, crawling under the crisp white sheets and laying her head on the soft pillow.

"Goodnight." He said, snuggling against the back of the couch beneath the sheet.

Krystal had not realized how tired she actually was; after all, she had been awake for nearly a solid day, save for her quick nap by the river. She closed her eyes and was asleep almost instantly.

She found herself in another world. The world of her past.

She was home. Her father slept soundly in bed, and her mother, Keila, stood at the stove, nursing a stew. She looked up suddenly with a frightened expression and turned to the door. As if on cue, there was a frantic knock. Keila rushed to open the door. She stared in horror at the young girl on the other side. She uttered a name, but it was unintelligible. She stepped outside and closed the door behind her. "Come with me."

Krystal opened the door and stepped outside, eager to follow her mother.

Keila led the strange girl behind the house, close to the forest. "I'm sorry... I didn't know that-"

"Didn't know what?" The girl snapped. "That I lived an entire other life on another planet?"

Her mother shook her head. "I knew... your first flashback came when you were seven... I tried to stop it. I tried to bury the memories...But-"

"But what? But I'm fourteen and I just saw myself-..." Tears came to the girl's eyes. "You don't understand what it was like..."

Keila embraced her. "I'm so sorry... It won't ever happen again, I swear."

"You couldn't stop it this time!" The girl screamed, shoving her away. A slight pull prevented her right hand from pulling back with her. She looked down in shock at the knife handle, planted in Keila's breast. With a gasp of horror, she pulled it free.

Blood flowed from the wound, covering Keila's hands and clothes. She stared at the girl, not with resentment, but with a great sorrow.

Krystal could only stand in absolute shock as her mother collapsed to the ground in seemingly slow motion, with a series of thuds. The girl dropped the knife. It landed with a soft thump in the leaves. The cool autumn breeze swept through with a chill as she stared, hypnotized by the growing red splotch on the ground.

Three times she mouthed the word "mom" but no sound escaped.

Keila uttered the girl's name again, but Krystal couldn't make it out. "... I'm sorry...I...love you..."

"Mo-...mo-..." The girl struggled. She couldn't breathe... she couldn't move. She could only stare at the carnage on the ground.  _What have I done?_ Her voice was clear in Krystal's mind, along with the sheer despair. Her figure was a blur; Krystal tried to focus on her, but nothing stuck.

"I forgive you...It's not your fault." Keila whispered, tears in her eyes.

Krystal screamed, but she made no noise.

"Krystal..."

She cried out again, but her voice was still mute.

"Krystal!"

She screamed, this time with sound.

" _Krystal!_ "

She opened her eyes, looking into those of Fox McCloud. Energy surged through her body. She grunted as a blue light emanated from her body and crashed into the four walls. Fox was thrown to the floor.

She was out of bed in a second and by his side. "Are you alright? What happened!"

He groaned, slowly getting to his feet. "What...what was that?" He asked.

"What was what?"

"That... that thing you did..." He said, staring at her with a concerned look.

She paused. It occurred to her that the blue flash might not have been part of the dream. "Was...that...real?"

"You were screaming in your sleep. I was trying to wake you up. You were having a bad dream. But then all of the sudden...you were... _glowing_."

She furrowed her brow. "What could it have been? I haven't the slightest clue why it happened!"

"I... I don't know." He said, in deep thought. "I can't think of anything I've ever heard of that would explain what just happened."

"Do you think... there's something wrong with me?" She asked, looking up into his eyes with a worried expression.

A bit of panic penetrated his mind. "No! Of course not... I mean... It can't be serious. Now that I think of it, I'm not even sure if what I saw was real."

She looked down. "I don't want to cause trouble on your ship..."

"What? No, nothing even happened. Except your dream." There was a pause as the vividness of Krystal's nightmare returned to her. Fox noticed the slight change in her eyes. "Are... are you okay?"

She nodded, but there were tears in her eyes. She kept her head down to hide them from him. He gently nudged her chin with his finger, tilting her face up. The innocence that showed through her teary eyes was more than enough to melt his heart. He planted a soft kiss on her forehead.

"I'm sorry..." He said softly.

Her face grimaced in anguish and she buried her face in his chest. He held her close as she struggled not to sob. The foolishness of her behavior struck her and she pulled out of the embrace, swallowing her pain with her pride and wiping her tears.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what..." She trailed off, knowing it was a lie.

"It's alright." Fox said kindly, placing his hand on her shoulder. "I have nightmares, too, sometimes."

"I'm sorry I woke you up..."

"No, it's okay. It's not your fault. Are you gonna be alright?"

She nodded. "Yes... thank you."

He smiled. "You're welcome. If you ever need anything, don't be afraid to ask."

"Thanks, Fox." She glanced out the window at the darkness. "I guess we should get some sleep."

"I'll be here if you need me." He sat on the couch and waited for her to climb into bed before tucking himself beneath the sheet. But as he lay there perfectly awake and staring at the ceiling, the strange occurrence crossed his mind again. It was like nothing he had ever seen. For a moment, he had second thoughts about bringing her back to his ship. He pushed them away with the memories of Sauria, and all the work he'd done to save her. He remembered rescuing Kyte at Dragon Rock, and the praises he'd sung of the kind, loving Krystal. It was those praises that kept him going on minimal, uncomfortable sleep, when he had started to wonder if saving Sauria was worth the pay.

He looked up towards the bed, listening to the sounds of her breathing. She was part of his crew, now. Whatever it was that had happened, they would figure it out together. His breathing calmed and he succumbed to the soft cushions of the couch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Krystal's nightmare makes sense now, finally. It would have been fixed a lot sooner if your author here wasn't such a lazy oaf :)
> 
> Falco: All you had to do was double check it with your other story.
> 
> Me: Yep.
> 
> Falco: That's a level of Lazy that puts me to shame.
> 
> Me: Yep.
> 
> Falco: You're the worst.
> 
> Me: ...Yeah, but at least I'm not butt-boy.
> 
> Falco: ...


	5. Corneria Space Station

Krystal slowly opened her eyes. She felt as if she had slept for days, and yet the sky was still dark. She rolled over in the soft comfy bed and looked at the digital holographic clock on the nightstand. It read 11:17am. She frowned, trying to remember the symbols and their meanings. It took a few moments for her to remember that am meant morning, and pm meant afternoon or evening. 12:00pm meant the middle of the day. After that, the numbers started over from one.

She sat up slowly and stretched, looking out the window at the billions of stars floating by and remembering that she was in space, and space was always dark. She stood up and stretched out her legs, and then glanced at the couch. It was made up perfectly and Fox was gone.

She groggily rubbed her eye with the heel of her hand and brushed a strand of hair from her forehead. The thought of a cool bath crossed her mind. She hadn't bathed since she had been stuck in the prison atop of Krazoa Palace, and although there was a fair amount of rain, it wasn't the same as a nice bath. She crossed to the bathroom and checked to make sure it was empty before opening the door.

The bath tub was much more high tech than the simple ones on Cerinia. For one, it was not a tub. There was a glass door opening into a perfect little square room covered in tiles with a drain in the center. There was a strange looking knob just above her head, and two small knobs at her waist.

She thought back to what Katt had told her about the "showers" they had on Corneria. The knobs were there for the water. One turned on hot water, one turned on cold water. According to Katt, you needed to turn them both to get a nice warm balance. Krystal closed and locked the bathroom door and turned the knob for hot water. From experience she was expecting cold water. The shower did not disappoint.

But to her surprise, after only a few seconds, a stream of steaming hot water singed her fingers. She gasped and stepped back. The water ran neatly to the drain, boiling her toes on its way. She remembered what Katt had said about the balance. Cold water.

She turned the knob on the right and the water cooled significantly into a delicious warm shower.

She giggled a bit from surprise and delight, stepping back into the water and wetting her fur.

_Now this..._  She thought.  _This is something I could get used to..._

( **Meanwhile** )

Fox sat in his chair, waiting for the signal to connect. He had to request permission for hyperspace, since the Great Fox had still need of many upgrades. The Warp Gate ability would be one of the first things to add. No more requesting hyperspace from the C.S.S.

He cleared his mind as the low-grade image of a white cat appeared on the hologram system.

"Corneria Space Station. This is the Travel Request line. What's your sector?" She asked. She laid eyes on Fox and her demeanor changed just slightly.

Fox looked down at his screen and rattled off his coordinates. "Requesting travel to Corneria at standard hyperspace speed."

The cat did a few calculations on the computer in front of her. "I'm sorry... we have a massive freight delivery right through the center. About three thousand cargo ships headed across. You'll have to wait a few hours. Keep your position and check back at 13:00 hours Standard Corneria Time."

"Thank you. Fox out." He ended the transmission with a sigh. He checked the clock. It was 11:43am. Just over one hour left to depart.

_I should see if Krystal is awake..._

He walked down the hall into the sleeping quarters, which were conveniently right next to the bridge. It was one of the things he loved about the old but cherished ship. His door was the first on the right. He opened it.

Light from the hallway flooded the dark room.

A gasp emitted from the corner.

Krystal stood dripping wet and nude by the closet, digging out a towel. The bathroom had been void of said towel when she stepped out a few moments before.

The sight of her there, back to him yet still naked, drove more shock into Fox's mind than the moment Andross had revealed himself in the space above Sauria. He stumbled backwards and slammed the door in his own face, tripping over his feet and landing smack on his rear in the middle of the hallway floor.

"Damn. What happened to you. Get kicked out?" Katt asked with a chuckle.

"What!" Fox leapt to his feet and turned around, his face turning red. "No! I just... I couldn't just stand there when she was n...Nevermind."

Katt raised an eyebrow. "Nuh? Nuhh-aked?"

Fox's orange furred face turned red. "What? No!"

Katt snickered and turned to walk away. "Sure... Whatever you say Fox."

Fox stood with his back to the door, running his fingers through the fur on his head. He took a deep breath and walked into the bridge. He pressed the button for the ship's com announcement system. "Attention team, please meet on the bridge for an important meeting in ten minutes." He said.

Katt arrived first. Slippy appeared out of the Docking bay two minutes later, followed by Peppy and Rob.

Krystal, fully dressed in a pair of Katt's old jeans and a slightly low-cut tank top, walked up behind Fox, blushing a bit. "What's going on?"

He glanced at her and blushed. "Team meeting. I just want everyone here so no one has problems with our flight plan." He replied.

"Alright." She reached her right hand over to her left arm and scratched nervously. Each present team member had their respectful seat. Even Falco, although he was missing at the moment.

Fox noticed her looking at the chairs and spoke up, glad for a subject that did not involve their recent embarrassing encounter. "There's not enough seats for you yet... we'll have one more installed when we reach Corneria." He said. "I mean if you want to you could sit on my lap." He mentally kicked himself for choosing that particular moment to blurt out a comment that could be considered flirting.

Krystal flushed and giggled. "That's fine. I'll just stand and watch."

Fox shrugged, glad that she had averted what might have been an even more awkward situation. He glanced at the clock. One minute to go.

Rob turned from his station and scanned Fox. "My sensors indicate Fox's temperature is rising..."

A deep red blush covered his face.

"Are you okay, Fox?"

"Is it just me or is it warm in here?" Fox asked, attempting to cover the robot's annoying bluntness. "Did someone turn on the heater?"

Katt smirked at him. "Nope. It's just you, foxie boy."

Fox coughed to clear his throat. "It's been ten minutes... Where the hell is Falco?" He said quickly. He could not bring himself to look Krystal in the eye.

Peppy sighed. "Just start without him, he'll show up in time to fail a review quiz on the subject."

Falco came dawdling in the door two minutes late. "I heard my name called. Someone miss me?"

"No, Falco." Fox retorted. "We were just waiting for you to  _not_  show up when the team is called for a meeting."

"Aw, waiting for  _me_? I feel special!" He grinned broadly and took his seat.

A scoff came from Katt. "Depends what kind of special..." She muttered.

"So, Fox. What's the occasion? Why'd you call us in?" Falco asked.

"Two things. First, we're about to leave for Corneria. Hyperspace is a bit rough, so we should all be prepared. I haven't scheduled the departure yet, so I wanted to make sure we're all alert and ready for the jump. Second, and this has probably gotten around already, but... I've asked Krystal to join the team. She's a bit new to our technology, but she's very bright and a skilled fighter. She's also telepathic, which I'm sure will come in handy during future missions."

"Well, well. Welcome to team Star Fox." Peppy said, giving an amused look to Fox.

Falco got up and scoffed. "Right..." He walked off the bridge and into the hall.

Fox sighed and lifted his left hand to his forehead to rub his temple. "Can someone just...make him take things seriously for once?"

Peppy let out a dry chuckle. "Leave him, Fox. It's not life or death. Even if it was, you would hardly get a response out of that one."

Fox shook his head and brought up the com on his laptop. The hologram station in the center buzzed to life.

The white cat's face appeared. "Corneria Space Station. This is the Travel Request line. What's your se-..." She stopped mid-sentence and seemed to stare at Krystal for a few seconds. She looked at Fox. "Star Fox? Is there...something..."

"I'm sorry, it's actually kind of urgent that we reach Corneria as soon as possible. Have any routes opened up? Are there any detours we might be able to take?"

She frowned. "Let me check."

A familiar hatred flooded the feline's veins.  _She was supposed to be dead..._  she thought, typing in route coordinates on her computer. The 298 vessel cargo freight line that was crossing the space above Corneria would be there for another 3 hours. It would take much less than that for the Great Fox to collide with them, assuming they left soon. She frowned at the screen.  _Of all the places for her to show up. Of all the people she had to be with... why did it have to be him?_  She hesitated for a moment, but then her mind was made up.

"I'm feeding you the coordinates as we speak. It's a small opening, but your ship should be able to squeeze through with a few parsecs to spare. Follow the exact course I'm giving you, and you will be fine." She said, typing up the route and sending it to the Great Fox's main computer system. Along with the route, she included a small, barely noticeable virus. It would allow her to disable their radar system at the opportune moment, should she choose to end their lives.

Such a shame to end the Star Fox team in such an anti-climactic way, but to rid the world of the filth on board was well worth it. She smiled her sweetest and ended the transmission.

Fox received the coordinates on his laptop and transferred them into the engine's computer. "All set. That was easier than I expected." He said.

Peppy snored once.

Katt chuckled and walked off the bridge, followed by Slippy.

Fox turned to Krystal. There was a troubled look on her face. "You okay?" He asked.

She nodded. "Yeah. It's just..." She trailed off.

"Just...?"

"My staff." She suddenly remembered she hadn't seen it since she arrived on the Great Fox. "It... it was a gift from...mo vukxoh." She slipped into her natural language, feeling as if it would be too painful to say it any other way. "I didn't see it this morning. I can't remember where I left it last..."

"I'll go check the Docking Bay. It might still be in my arwing." Fox said. He got up and left the bridge.

Krystal stood for a moment, staring at the void beyond the window in the bridge. Something didn't feel right... something about the girl on the hologram.

"My sensors indicate your heartbeat is rising. Are you okay, Krystal?" Rob asked.

She turned around. "I'm not sure... Something doesn't feel right." She said.  _I know I've seen her before, but where?_  She furrowed her brow in concentration.  _There's got to be some memory of her somewhere and I'm just missing it._

She walked into the hall after Katt. The pink feline was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed and a frustrated expression.

"Katt?"

"Huh?" She snapped her attention to Krystal. "What's up?"

"Are you thinking about...that girl?" Krystal asked.

Katt nodded. "Something's not right about her. The way she smiled when she gave us the coordinates. She looked like a...well, no pun intended, like a cat about to send her mouse into a perfect trap and eat it for supper."

"I've got the same feeling." Krystal said. "I can't help feeling like she's familiar. Like I've seen her before somewhere."

Katt nodded again. "Yeah. Only you can't quite tell where."

"Yes!" Krystal said, relieved that she wasn't the only one who felt that way.

"I hate to say it, but I really would be surprised if we made it all the way to Corneria without any incidents, or... _accidents._ " Katt said.

"I really hope not. I hope we make it okay. Without the accidents." Krystal replied nervously.

Katt sighed. "I agree. Last night was enough excitement for a little while. I'd prefer something more thrilling and less life-threatening. Speaking of which, I'd like some explaining from you on what happened after I left in Kevin's ship. As far as I know the whole bloody planet went up in flames."

Krystal shook her head. "I hardly remember, really... It's one of those memories you keep behind a door in your mind... one of those doors that tends to remain closed until forced open."

Katt nodded. "I understand... did anyone else survive?"

Krystal shook her head. "Well, there was... Tony... I ran into him on Sauria during Scales' raid. He...he was killed."

Katt reached out for her friend's shoulder. "I'm sorry. I know he meant a lot to you."

Krystal offered a half smile and shook her head. "It's...there's nothing we can do now. Besides, I..." She blushed.

Katt grinned mischievously. "Yeah?"

"I think I...I kind of..."

"You're into Fox now, aren't ya?" Katt smirked.

Krystal blushed deeply. "Well... when you put it that way..."

Katt laughed. "I called that one. So completely obvious."

Krystal's eyes widened in shock. "Is it?"

"Relax, he's clueless. Besides, he more than returns the same feelings. I mean I'm sure you knew this already."

Krystal grinned a bit and blushed. "It got kind of awkward earlier..."

"Was this when I found him out here on the floor looking like he'd seen a ghost?"

Krystal burst out laughing. "Did you?"

"I walked out of my room, just minding my own business, and I see him going into his room, when all the sudden he comes flying out backwards like he got hit by a freight train, trips over himself, and lands on his ass in the middle of the floor. I mean not gonna lie it was the funniest thing I've seen in years but what the hell scared him so bad?"

Krystal covered her mouth to try and stop her laughter. "Well, I decided to take a shower when I woke up, but when I was done, there were no towels...So I stepped out to look for one, and all of the sudden the door opened and I saw Fox standing there. I was so shocked, I didn't know what to do! But then he just backed out as suddenly as he'd walked in, like he was suddenly reversed."

Katt made no attempt to stifle her bursting laughter, clutching her sides and leaning against the wall. "Oh wow...that explains a lot." She managed, still laughing. "Poor guy, I don't think he's ever seen a naked girl before!"

Krystal giggled a bit, her cheeks turning red. "I should probably go find him. I think he was looking for my staff in the Docking Bay. What's the Docking Bay?"

"It's another word for a hangar. Where you came in last night, in the arwing. They keep the ships there and the door opens when they deploy or come in."

"Oh, I know where I'm going now." Krystal said. "Thanks."

"Yeah... by the way, can I use that story against Fox?"

"No!" Krystal cried, her face turning red again.

Katt sighed. "Fine...I'll have to find other ways to get on his nerves and embarrass him."

Krystal chuckled as she walked back onto the bridge. Peppy was snoring, still in his chair. Rob turned to look at her for a moment and then went back to his corner of the ship's computer.

The blue vixen turned toward the Docking Bay and stepped into the air-tight chamber that served as an elevator to the main hangar and the guest dock. The door closed behind her and another one opened in front of her.

She stood for a moment before stepping out into the hangar. Fox sat quietly inside his arwing, holding her staff in his hands and examining it. He didn't seem to have noticed her. She hesitated, just watching him turn over her weapon in his hands and study it. A thousand thoughts ran through her mind about him. She contemplated reading his mind, but decided against it. His troubled thought patterns were enough to let her know that it was personal.

Telepath or not, she had no right to his personal problems.

She crossed her arms, smiling slightly as she watched him. He had such a kind, tender heart. Fearless leader, hero of the known world, and yet he lost his senses around her. It was quite flattering, to say the least. It was touching to see how much he cared for her staff.

Even in the short time she had known him, she knew that he was good. This was a man she could fall for.


	6. Hyperspace

Fox sat quietly in his arwing, holding the weapon that had saved his life numerous times only a few days ago. There was a certain sentimental value to it. When he had left it with Krystal on the roof of the Krazoa palace, he never dreamed he would miss it this much. Yet here he was, hesitating to return what was not his own.

Then there was the deal of the mysterious person she had mentioned. It was a gift, but from who? His knowledge of the Saurian language ended with the battery for Slippy's translator device. She could have been talking about a friend, her parents even. But the possibility that she had been talking about a past lover got to his mind more than anything. He did not know why such a jealousy had appeared so suddenly, and strongly for that matter. He had nothing to be jealous for. She was here with him, not with anyone from her past.

There was the fact that she was not really with  _him_ , just there within the same area. But that was a higher position than anyone from her past held at the moment.

_Calm down, Fox. Maybe she was only talking about a family member… so why was she so emotional about it? She looked like she was about to cry. Maybe it was a dead family member? That's horrible… you ought to be ashamed for being so worked up… but at the same time… I have a right to be jealous. I like her, a lot… maybe a little more than like. Maybe…maybe a little more than a lot… No. This has to stop. She said that kiss was nothing. It was just a test of character… for her safety. But she can read minds, couldn't she just have sensed if I was out to harm her?_

He sighed, twirling the staff in his hands. Movement from his right caught his eye and he looked over to see Krystal in the doorway. He nearly jumped. "How…how long have you been standing there?" He asked.

She shrugged. "Oh…about ten seconds?"

"Oh… I… I found your staff." Fox said.

She walked over and climbed onto the wing of the arwing. "Thank you." She said. He reluctantly handed it to her. She grinned, sensing his reluctant emotions. "You miss it?" She asked.

He blushed. "Yeah, a little… I mean, it's just a…"

She frowned. "I don't think you know."

"What?"

"This staff… it's alive, you know. Maybe it doesn't have will of its own enough to get up and walk away. But it's alive nevertheless. You can feel it…if you listen…" She closed her eyes, holding onto the shortened staff.

Fox watched in amazement as it began to glow a bright blue. The glow engulfed Krystal as well, growing brighter and brighter. She opened her eyes.

The glow instantly ceased.

Fox blinked a few times, wondering if he was seeing things. He cleared his throat. "So, you…you said the staff was a gift…"

"Yes."

"From who?" He asked.

She hesitated, looking at him. "My…" She turned away. "My father."

He looked down. By the tone in her voice and the way she had averted her gaze, he had a feeling that her father was dead. "Is he…?"

"He's dead." She stated plainly.

"I'm sorry…"

"He died two years ago, on my planet. It was the day the village perished. I was the only one I know of who survived. There was another survivor, but he…he died as well."

"You're…the last of your kind." Fox said, staring at her again.

"Yes." She still did not return his gaze. He wanted to ask her what happened, but he was too scared to bring up hurtful memories for her. She sensed this and took a deep breath. "I barely even know what happened… it was chaotic. I was outside with Katt. We were talking about... something, I don't remember. We heard a scream from the village… the sun turned dark. There was only red light everywhere. I thought it was just an eclipse, but when I looked at the sky, there was a meteor… a huge one, headed right for the village. I told Katt to warn the village to get into the forest, and I ran to my father inside. I told him there was a meteor coming. He looked so frightened… I had never seen my father scared. He wasn't even looking at me. He was looking behind me… I turned around, and there was someone there. He was wearing a cloak, hiding his true identity. My telepathy didn't work on him at all. I didn't even sense him as a life form. He held a gun… he shot my father in the chest, and then walked out. I didn't know what to do… my father called me over to him. He handed me his staff and told me to save myself… he said there was no hope. We were all going to die. I was so frightened… I ran. The meteor was coming closer. Little bits of it came ahead, starting small fires throughout the village. The people were panicking, running everywhere. I screamed at them to run, away from the village. They wouldn't listen… I ran to find my brother's ship. It was gone. So was he… So I did what anyone would do. I fled. I ran out of the village and deep into the forest. I felt the meteor hit… I felt them dying…"

A tear ran down her cheek. Fox stared at her, wide eyed with sorrow filling his soul.

"I fell down with the quake that the meteor caused… I must have passed out. A CloudRunner saved me, somehow. He found me and took me to Sauria. His name was Kyte."

"I'm sorry…" Fox said. He reached out and placed his hand on her shoulder.

Krystal realized she was crying. She wiped her tears and turned away from him. "Well, it's… it's over now. There's... no one left but me."

Fox carefully climbed out of his seat and sat next to her on the wing. She made no move to pull away as he wrapped his arms around her and held her close to his chest. He rested his cheek on her head. "I'm sorry… I know what it's like to lose a father… my father was killed a few years ago by a menace called Andross. The same beast killed my mother by accident when I was very young. He meant to kill my father, but… he got her instead. He came back ten years later to finish what he started."

"I'm sorry…" Krystal said softly. She pulled out of his embrace and looked at him, placing her hand on his cheek. "I guess you could say we are alike, both orphans now."

He offered a half smile. "Me? Like you? I don't know how that's even possible. You're an angel." He had not meant to speak out loud, but now that the words were out there he dare not wish them back.

She blushed. "I don't think so… I'm just an ordinary person like you."

He shook his head. "You're not ordinary at all." He glanced at her lips. The longing to kiss her grew in his heart. He leaned in, but she turned away.

Peppy's voice came over the intercom. "Fox, you're needed on the bridge."

Fox hopped off the arwing and exited the Docking Bay, skillfully avoiding having to address the awkward situation he'd caused.

Peppy sat in his chair on the bridge, turned toward the door. "We're awaiting orders to enter hyperspace."

Fox cleared his throat. "Right." He walked to the comm system and pressed the button. "Attention team, we are about to enter hyperspace. T minus one minute. Brace yourselves."

Rob entered in a few codes on the main system and Peppy set in the route the girl from the space station had sent them. Krystal wandered in from the docking bay.

"What's going on?" She asked.

"The ship is about to enter hyperspace. It's a bit outdated, and uh… a little rough." Fox explained. "You can take Falco's seat for now. Hang on."

"Fox, would you care to do the honors?" Peppy offered.

Fox grinned childishly. "Everyone ready?" Rob turned around and latched his hands onto the metal bar designed for rough moments. Krystal hopped into Falco's seat and held onto the arm rests. Peppy sat back into his seat, secured his personalized seat belt, and then gripped the handles he had personally installed for just this purpose.

Fox tapped the comm button. "Entering hyperspace in five…four…" As he talked he ran up into Rob's area and grabbed a lever. "…two…one…"

The ship lurched with a tremendous force, throwing Fox across to the metal bar. He grabbed it with a whoop and nearly flipped over it, laughing hysterically.

Krystal shrieked, being halfway thrown from her seat but still clinging to the armrest.

Peppy's chair turned about and attempted to throw him out, but his seat belt held him in the chair. He shouted in surprise, gripping the handles in the chair.

The stars in the windows blended into streaks and the ship stabilized itself. The three team members on the bridge were laughing hysterically at their own clumsiness. Katt's voice came on through the bridge speakers.

"Hey, you guys ever gonna turn off the comm or do we all get the pleasure of listening in to your conversations forever?"

Fox steadied himself, vaulted over the railing and switched off the comm while laughing. He turned to Krystal, who was still clinging to Falco's armrest despite laughing.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Th-that was crazy!" She managed.

Peppy coughed from his chair. "If it's not too much, my seat belt's gotten stuck again…"

Fox walked swiftly over to him and tugged on the buckle. It didn't budge. He pressed the button and jerked it. It broke off. "Damn thing… It's alright. We'll get a nicer one when we reach Corneria." He said.

Peppy shook his head. "I'd rather focus on the new warp gate technology, and perhaps some better stabilizers. Then we can worry about little details."

"There's plenty enough for all of that." Fox said. "We've got enough to rebuild the entire ship from scratch and retire the whole team comfortably if we wanted."

Krystal had picked herself off the ground and was leaning over the metal railing. "It's a nice ship." She said. "But something tells me you're not going to retire any time soon." She winked at him.

Fox chuckled. "Nah. We got a few years left in this old thing. I figure, we could re-advertise across the galaxy, rack up a nice fortune, and then quit while we're way ahead." He grinned.

Peppy chuckled. "I think I'll be taking my retirement earlier than the rest of you."

Fox and Krystal both stared at him.

"Not right now, no. I've still got a couple of years left in these old bones… but you'll probably be in business long after I'm gone."

"Peppy, don't say things like that." Fox said.

"Well, not talking about it isn't gonna put off the inevitable. I'm getting too old for this sort of thing…"

Fox looked down. Krystal walked over to him and placed her hand on his shoulder. She sensed the sentimental feelings he had for Peppy.

Peppy stood from his chair. "Nah, you know me. I'll be up here with you all, fighting off bad guys with my walker and dentures… throwing medication at them and beating them over the head with a cane."

They all burst out laughing at the mental image.

"Now that's something I look forward to seeing." Fox said.

Rob spoke up suddenly. "My sensors indicate, there is a cargo fleet in space ahead. If our flight path is not altered, we will collide in approximately one hour."

Fox looked up. "That's impossible. The girl from the Space Station gave us a route around it."

Rob nodded. "Our coordinates are set to cross with the freight in approximately one hour."

Fox shook his head. "No. A trained operative at the Space Station couldn't be that careless. Besides, I've dealt with her before and she's always been nice. There's got to be a loophole you're overlooking."

"I have considered all possible outcomes from taking this route. All outcomes end in our termination." Rob replied.

Fox sighed. "No, that can't be right. There must be something she knows that we don't. She wouldn't lead us right into a cargo fleet. That…" He paused, thinking over what he was saying. "That would kill us…" He shook his head and turned away. "What's our estimated time to Corneria?"

"On our current course, we will reach Corneria in 2 days for the funeral service." Rob said.

Fox reached his hand up to his forehead, covering his eyes. "Rob. We are not going to crash this ship. Factoring that into your equation, what is the E.T.A. at Corneria?

"Estimated time of arrival at Corneria with no collision is approximately one hour and thirty minutes." Rob replied.

Fox sighed heavily. Krystal's eyes were wide. "It's alright. He glitches sometimes. We'll get him repaired when we get to the city."

"No, it's not that, it's… when she gave you the coordinates, I got…a bad feeling…"

"A trained space operative?" Fox asked.

Peppy shrugged. "You never know, Fox. There are some twisted people out there."

"Don't be ridiculous. She wouldn't do that to us." He walked out of the room with a frustrated air.

Peppy and Krystal exchanged looks. "I don't think you're the only one who doesn't fully trust that cat."

"I just know she can't be trusted. I can't help but think I've met her before… but that's impossible. I just… I've got a bad feeling about this."

Peppy laughed. "That's one line you should never say. Always leads to trouble."

Krystal covered her mouth. "Oh! I'm sorry… I didn't know."

He nodded. "It's alright, just a bit of healthy superstition." He walked slowly toward the door. "Well if you don't mind, I'm going to go catch a quick nap. No one's taking my advice about crashing, and if I'm gonna end up dying I would rather go in my sleep." He chuckled. "But in all seriousness, set the alarm off if you find that we really are in danger."

She nodded. "I'll do my best… I didn't come all this way to let the whole ship just crash."

Peppy left.

Krystal wandered around the bridge, admiring the outdated technology that was still so far ahead of her home planet. She looked out the clear window into space and froze in awe. The stars were all blurred around the ship into a beautiful, brilliant array of colors that all met up in one point at the front center of the window.

She stood there for what seemed like hours, but it was only about thirty minutes in total, mesmerized by the glory of space.

Fox walked back onto the bridge. Krystal sensed his presence, but continued staring out the window. He walked up behind her and stood silently.

He kept quiet for a good two or three minutes. "It's... beautiful, isn't it?" He asked.

She smiled a bit and nodded slightly. The silence settled in for another minute.

Fox looked down. "I'm sorry for being… difficult. It's just preposterous. Why would the space station worker want to harm us?"

The vixen glanced at him after a moment of silence and shrugged. "Crazed fan?" She suggested. Then she returned to staring at the stars.

Fox sighed. "If it makes you feel better… we could take a few scans when we get close."

Krystal nodded. "That would probably be best."

Fox checked the device on his arm for the time. "I'll give it a few more minutes. That should put us close enough for a readout."

( **Meanwhile** )

A certain white feline sat anxiously at her post, cracking the codes for the jamming signal that would successfully hide the cargo fleet from the Great Fox.

It was illegal.

She would be fired if caught.

She would definitely be caught.

Her eyes narrowed.  _Worth it._

The girl inhaled slowly through her nose, savoring the moment as she sent the signal through space… a momentary blip that would at best destroy the Star Fox team. At worst, cripple their ship beyond repair and kill all passengers. A smile crept onto her face.  _This time, she dies._

( **Back to the Great Fox** )

Fox typed up a few things on his computer and pressed enter. The hologram emitter in the center of the bridge coughed to life and spat out the fuzzy image of space around the Great Fox. There was nothing in its general vicinity.

"See? Nothing."

Krystal stared hard at the image. "I've got a bad feeling…" She trailed off, noticing a small detail that he had missed. "I think we should stop."

Fox looked at her. "The scan shows there's nothing…"

"Stop."

"What?"

"Fox, stop the ship, right now!" She cried.

"What're you-"

Krystal darted to the control board where Rob was, but the technology was far beyond her knowledge. "You have to make it stop!" She turned frantically to Fox. "There's no time!"

He leaped into action, yanking the emergency stop lever and switching on the comm at the same time. "Everyone hold on!" He cried.

He vaulted the railing, plopped into his seat, and activated the manual control levers. They popped out of the armrests. He grabbed both handles and yanked the controls for a sharp left.

The entire ship shook and g-force sent everything forward and to the right with a violent crash.

Fox looked out the window and his jaw dropped. He gripped the controls and groaned in effort to hold them steady while not falling out of his seat with the altered gravity direction.

The right wing of the Great Fox scraped into the side of the massive ship Fox had seen just seconds before. He pulled harder on the controls and hit the side boost. Krystal cried out, holding onto the railing for dear life. Rob had been thrown into the controls and was now in pieces, sparks flying everywhere.

The ship steadied and the G-Diffusers kicked in.

Fox heaved a breath of relief. He walked over to the window and looked outside. Sure enough, just as Krystal had said, a massive ship from the cargo fleet had been directly in their path. He rested his hand over his mouth in shock of what he almost let happen.

He turned to her. She had pulled herself off the ground and was staring at him.

"I'm sorry..." He said.

Falco's angry voice came from the comm. "What the HELL was that? Are you trying to kill us all or what? Who's driving up there!"

Fox hadn't moved, still staring at Krystal. "If you hadn't made me stop, I would've…" He trailed off.

"Fox! Yo! Who's up there?"

Krystal turned around and pressed the button for the comm. She was learning fast, just by watching the others. "This is Krystal. The ship was stopped to avoid a collision with a cargo ship from a fleet. Sorry to inconvenience you all, but show a little respect because your captain just saved all our lives."

"What?" Falco asked. "What cargo fleet? That chick from the C.S.S. told us-"

"She lied." Krystal interrupted. "For whatever reason, she wanted us dead. So just be grateful you're alive." She switched off the comm and turned to Fox. "Thank you…"

"…for what?" He asked.

"For believing me…" She offered a half smile.

He looked down. "I wish I had listened to you sooner…"

She shook her head. "The girl sent a signal to jam your ship's radar capabilities. You might not have seen it until it was too late."

He gave her a sideways glance. "How did you know she sent a jamming signal?"

"When you turned on your radar… it was blank for a second, then there were a few stars, and then it showed the ship… but no stars."

He looked thoughtful. "No stars on radar… That could have been just a normal thing. How did you know there were supposed to be stars on the radar?"

"I didn't have time to ask… the only conclusion was a signal to jam this one spot in your radar. If we had been farther away, it would have worked just fine."

He just looked at her for a minute. "You're brilliant…"

She blushed and shrugged. "I try…"

"I did something really stupid." He said.

"What is it?"

"I trusted her over you. I thought that because I've seen her before and she's always been nice that my team must be wrong."

"It's alright, Fox."

He sat down in his chair. "I almost let us die because she..."

"She what?"

"She..." He hesitated. "...flirted with me once."

Krystal stared at him with her eyebrows raised and crossed her arms. "Are you being serious?"

He chuckled nervously and switched on his comm. "Alright, team. I'm gonna steer us up and over the cargo ships. We're going home."

The blue vixen slowly shook her head, somewhat disappointed in him, and left the bridge.

Fox gently guided the Great Fox down and into the private dock provided by the military general.

Katt and Krystal had spent the half hour it took to enter atmosphere picking out select clothes that belonged to Katt for Krystal to borrow until further notice. Together they entered the bridge.

Krystal had donned a pair of skinny blue jeans and some black and white shoes similar enough to our planet's Converse to earn that nickname from the author. Her shirt was a white spaghetti-strap tank.

Fox caught sight of her out of the corner of his eye. He looked over and eyed her new look for a good five seconds, then looked away before it was considered staring.

The rest of the team filed in over the course of three minutes, each with their respective luggage. Katt carried a pink backpack and a matching pink over-stuffed suitcase.

The fact that that particular suitcase could be overstuffed was something only Katt would be able to do. The suitcase was made with a certain technology that was not only incredibly expensive, but also incredibly rare and hard to come by. This technology was that of a thought to be extinct race. It enabled an object meant for storage to be bigger on the inside than it was on the outside, bending all laws of dimension and space. Her suitcase's interior was big enough to fit 2 people comfortably inside with space to spare.

Of course, this much stored inside meant that the suitcase demanded wheels and a device which would lessen the gravity pull to even be lifted.

Krystal carried a large white purse that had come from Katt's suitcase, which she stuffed with two pairs of jeans, three tank tops, one pair of flip flops, her Cerinian clothes, her staff, and four pairs of socks.

Slippy, Peppy, Fox and Falco carried only backpacks.

Slippy stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of Rob, lying in pieces on the floor in the corner. "Wha-? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!" He shrieked.

Falco rolled his eyes. "Chill out, Slip. We've got the cash to build a hundred of him."

"What if his core memory is damaged? I'll have to entirely reprogram him!"

"Chill. Just...take deep breaths. He'll be fine. We'll come here first thing in the morning and get him. Alrighty?" Falco said.

Slippy got up from the floor and walked away slowly, staring longingly at the broken heap of parts.

Fox opened the passenger ramp from the bridge, and they piled into the elevator which served as a transport around the huge ship. It took them down to the ramp. Fox closed the ramp from the device on his arm.

"Where are we going now?" Krystal asked.

"A hotel. General Pepper should have a car waiting for us. We've rented out six rooms on the top floor. It's a really nice place. I think you'll like it. Everything's prepaid for the next week. After that the Great Fox should be fully repaired and ready for travel."

Sure enough, a long black hover car was waiting outside of their dock to take them to the hotel. There was a police escort waiting as well. Fox had argued several times before, but the General insisted that it was standard procedure for a mercenary team as well known and relied on as team Star Fox to be protected at all times.

He had, however, managed to argue the General out of the twenty-four hour security guard watch at the hotel.

The team filed into the limousine, buckled their seat belts and the car shot off toward the big city.

( **Meanwhile…** )

"That signal was a deliberate attempt on that crew's life! You sabotaged their radar and tried to lead them directly into that cargo fleet. Your job is on the line right now, but if you tell me  _why_ you did it, I might not turn you into the police. I'm half tempted to kill you myself. Do you even know whose lives it was you almost took?" The angry golden-furred Labrador lectured her in a sharp tone, pacing back and forth in front of his desk.

The white feline sat poised and quite cross in a seat by the window. She had already been transferred down to the planet and was in the office of the manager of her section of the space station. The window behind her showed a clear view of the public docking bay and above it, the sky.

If she sat just so, she had a clear view of that sky in the reflection of a large picture frame on the far wall. She had to slouch a little to her right so that the view in the reflection was to its maximum potential. As she had done for the last thirty minutes in reply to the Labrador's scolding and questioning, she remained silent except for the occasional cross glare and coy smile.

"If you don't start giving me answers, and I mean fast, I'm calling the police."

She sighed, rolling her eyes. When she looked back at the picture frame, she noticed a large grey ship heading down through the sky. She turned around in her seat to make sure it was the one she was looking for. Sure enough, the symbol of a fox with wings was stamped on the side.

She rose. "Well I'm sorry to cut this short, but I have a previous engagement I must attend to."

"You sit down!" The dog bellowed.

The cat promptly pulled the small gun that was tucked in the back of her belt and shot him between the eyes. "No, I don't think I will." She switched on the safety and tucked the gun into the side of her belt. "It's been a pleasure, sir, but I think I will resign."

She walked out the door, objective clearly in mind.

First, she found the private car she knew would be waiting for them. She knocked on the driver's window.

"Excuse me, can you help me?"

The driver, a squirrel, rolled down the window. She carefully leaned in the window.

"Yes? What is it you need?"

She put both her hands on his face and snapped his neck before he could object. With the window down, she unlocked the car door and climbed in, shoving the body over to the passenger side and donning the hat he had been wearing. She rolled up the window and locked the door.

Then she checked the gun in her belt. 5 shots left… not enough to finish off the whole team, but that was alright. A slight kink in her original plan, but as long as the original objective was cleared.

She only needed one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a bit disappointed in Fox, I gotta say.
> 
> Fox: What was I supposed to do?
> 
> Me: Gee, maybe you should have trusted the girl you're really interested in instead of some rando chick who flirted with you once or twice. But I dunno, maybe that's just me.
> 
> Fox: ...you realize that you wrote it, right?
> 
> Me: Details, details...


	7. Corneria

Down below the surface of Corneria's massive and beautiful oceans lay a magnificent underwater city, protected by a shield. Below the shield was a layer of 12 inch enhanced pressurized laser-proof metal. It was nearly the equivalent to impervious and shatter-proof glass. This particular metal was clear, so that one could see into the underwater city from the outside.

On the side of the dome closest to the city, there was a holographic programmed screen made to show the sights from the sky above. During the day, the roof and sides showed blue sky or clouds, whichever the weather man decided would reign in the open air above. At night, the roof darkened to show the many stars. The probe cameras above the surface instantaneously transferred the direct images. If a ship flew by above, it would show on the roof of the dome.

The ocean floor had been covered carefully with a metal alloy electrically charged from one of the many surface generators to support the many cars and buildings. Rather than use outdated electrical wires with high chance of power outages and death, the alloy allowed for the safe transfer of energy between the power plant and every building. The economy had evolved past paying electric bills to private companies; with one singular source of power, government owned, the entire city paid a small tax in return for power in every home, every day. The clean energy, mostly solar based, did not pose a threat to the environment, and the electrically powered vehicles left the air in the city crisp and clean, smog free.

The alloy met the clear metal at the circular edge of the underwater city, where it was sealed permanently by the toughest sealing material in the nearest ten galaxies. The city itself was sealed in safely, attached to the city above ground by a two-layer eighteen lane freeway that soared up through the water, protected by a tunnel which was made in the same fashion as the dome.

Driving along this freeway heading down into the magnificent globe of a city was a long black hover limo with two police escorts. The driver of said limo was following the escorts in an incredibly cross mood, waiting for an opportune moment to strike and yet knowing that she would not get one.

A hundred foolish plots of how to kill the woman now sitting in the back of the limo had gone through her mind. The one which sounded most tempting was to use the five shots left in her gun to rid herself of the rest of the team, and then strike the frightened girl over the head with the handle until she was dead.

The problem with this plan was that then she would not be able to drive the car.

The only possible way to kill her without being caught would be to wait until they reached their destination. The realization that she had killed the driver and would have to somehow elude the police escorts was a definite kink in her plan. Either she would have to sneak out of the limo without the escorts noticing and flee immediately, or she'd have to feign that she was the real driver. Both options had a high risk of drawing attention and getting her pinned for murder.

An idea formed in her mind. She unlocked her phone and scrolled the contacts, settling on the name "Carol (Press)".

"Hello?"

"Hi, Carol. I know you don't know me, but I have some information that you might like to know about the Star Fox mercenary team."

"...Yes?"

"They are heading now in a limousine escorted by two police cars to the Corneria Inn, in the center of the ocean city."

"Are you sure about this?"

"I am currently driving their limousine. Their entire crew is in my back seat, including their new member."

Carol squealed in delight. "New member? This is marvelous! Thank you for the tip! But may I ask where you got this number?"

She ended the call before she was forced to explain how she stole it from a colleague's address book a few weeks prior in order to do some investigating on a now trivial matter.

With a heaved sigh she gripped the steering wheel. Almost there… With any luck, the press and a sizable group of fans would show up before they arrived. That would keep the police busy long enough for her to throw the squirrel's body in the back and at least get a few words in to that devil she'd sworn to kill.

Maybe she would even be lucky enough to pull off a shot to the face. But as much as she wanted her dead, she did not want to see the inside of a prison. She would have to tread carefully.

( **In the back…** )

The cars pulled up to the front of the incredibly tall hotel. Fox looked out the window of the limo and groaned. "I thought he said this wouldn't get out to the press. This is just great… welcome home." He scoffed.

Falco laughed. "Embracing the publicity, eh Fox? You'll warm up to it."

Katt rolled her eyes. "Sorry love, not everyone is as big an attention whore as you."

"Hey!"

Krystal stared in awe at the growing crowd. Within a matter of seconds even traffic had come to a halt to see the famous Star Fox team emerge from the limo.

Falco flipped on the live news channel on the holographic screen in the limo. "Look! There we are!"

"…team has not yet left their private escort. The crowd here is going wild, Bill! It looks like we aren't the only ones excited to see our favorite heroes come home." A young tabby cat with her hair and makeup done to perfection was standing three feet from the limo, talking into a microphone in front of the camera.

The windows were tinted black.

"I'm gonna go talk to my fans." Falco said, reaching for the door.

Fox grabbed his arm. "Don't you dare."

"C'mon! They're our  _fans_! They love us!"

Katt spoke up. "Open that door and I will shoot you myself." He hesitated. "Don't think I won't do it, either." She pulled her gun from her purse.

"Put that away!" Fox hissed. "If they see guns, everyone's going to run and panic. Wait for the police to handle it."

The two police dogs had climbed off their hover bikes and were trying to usher the crowd away.

Krystal grabbed Fox's arm. "Something's not right." She said.

He turned around in his seat. "What is it?"

"I don't know… it's…" She closed her eyes to concentrate. "I think it's the driver. There's someone in the front seat."

Fox stared for a moment at the tinted window that separated them from the cabin. This time, he wasn't going to ignore her intuition. "Let's get out, quickly. On the count of three, we run. Straight out, straight into the hotel. The guards won't let all of those people in. They'll have to leave. I'm going to ask for a transfer to a different hotel. This time, we're taking a cab. Alright?"

Everyone stared at him expectantly.

"On the count of three." The window between the driver and them began to roll down, and he caught a glimpse of the white cat in her rear view mirror. "Scratch that. We're going now!"

Falco shoved out first, arms spread wide as if to embrace the crowd. Security had come from the hotel and were helping the police to make a path through the massing crowd. Falco walked right up to the camera. "Hi, guys!" He grinned and waved. "Your heroes have returned!"

Fox and Krystal rushed out next. He pulled her through the door and sighed in relief. Slippy and Peppy strolled in next. Katt had grabbed Falco by the feathers on the back of his head and dragged him inside.

Somewhere in the middle of everything, they had missed the driver of the limo, who quietly snuck inside the lobby and had taken a seat by the door. She picked up one of the news tabloid devices on the table to cover her face and pretended to be reading it.

Fox stood by the counter, talking to the receptionist about a transfer to a different hotel.

Katt and Falco were arguing about Falco's diversion techniques.

Slippy and Peppy were talking about the rebuilding plans for the Great Fox.

Krystal felt the presence of the driver in the lobby. She turned around and stared for a good minute, trying to decipher the girl's thought patterns. They were encoded and jumbled, as if she had spent years trying to hide her real thoughts from a skilled telepath. The one thing that made any sense was a single repeating sentence.

_Your mind tricks won't work on me. Your mind tricks won't work on me. Your mind tricks won't work on me._

It took Krystal a moment to realize that the girl's thoughts were not in Lylatian. They were in her home language.

Saurian.

This realization caught her off guard. She gasped, staring intently at the back of the tablet that hid the girl's face.

A pair of blue eyes met Krystal's for a split second.

"You…you're that girl from the space station…"

She lowered the news device and set it on the table next to her. "Yeah? What of it?"

"Your thoughts are in the Saurian language. Your mind is coded and hidden so that no one can decipher your thoughts. You tried to kill us."

The girl chuckled. "'Us?' Why would I want Star Fox dead? I tried to kill  _you_."

Krystal's expression changed from angry to confused. "Why?"

She cocked her head to the side. "You really don't recognize me, do you?"

"Why would I?"

The cat laughed. "You don't even know."

"No, I don't. So tell me."

"All these years and you haven't got a clue."

"A clue of what? You're crazy."

The blue eyes darkened like a cloud had passed over them. "You'd better be careful where you turn your back, little girl. One of these days, I'm going to put a gun shot in it. You're just lucky that this was the day I decided not to be caught."

Krystal stared in shock.

"Hey, everything okay over there?" Falco called.

The white cat stood up. "Shut your face, bird."

"What was that?" He took a step forward but Katt grabbed his arm.

"Falco, don't you dare."

"That bitch called me a bird." He said, fuming.

"You have no right to call a stranger by that name, and for gosh sakes you  _are_  a bird!" Katt snapped.

He turned to her, eyes bulging. "Well  _you're a pink cat!_ " He shouted.

" _YES I AM!_ " Katt shouted louder. "Go take a cold bath in a fountain and chill out, feather face."

Falco balled his hands into fists, but made no return comment.

Krystal rolled her eyes and turned back to the white cat. In all the commotion, she had taken her leave unnoticed.

She ran to the clear doors and looked outside. There was no sign of her adversary in the crowd that still lingered. A hedgehog with a camera snapped her photo through the glass. She flinched and backed away.

Katt walked up to the window and spread her arms in a challenging way toward the hedgehog. He lifted the camera. In one smooth move, Katt drew her gun from her purse and shot a laser clean through the window and directly into the camera lens, where it dissolved before it could reach his face. Just as fast as she had pulled the gun, the feline twirled it once around her finger and slid it back into her purse.

He lowered the broken camera and stared. She smirked, waved, and blew him a kiss before walking toward the front desk.

Krystal reached out and touched the window, which somehow hadn't shattered despite having a laser shot through it. The surface was slightly warm and had a slight vibration to it. Rather than glass, the Cornerians often used an electric field. Lower quality fields like the one in this hotel would stop up to a certain amount of pressure or force, and anything breaking the threshold - such as a laser fired from a gun - would pass through. Higher quality fields, like those in banks and important offices, could stop projectiles.

She stepped away from the window as more paparazzi stepped up with cameras. Fox was still trying to talk the receptionist into making a call in order to switch the team's hotel rooms to a different hotel without unjustly charging them for another set of rooms.

The man didn't seem intelligent enough to understand simple words in her own language.

He finally talked her into giving him her phone and the number for the closest hotel in the planet-wide chain. "Hello?"

"Hi, I'm calling from the Corneria Inn on Sixteenth Street in the underground. My friends and I have already paid for six rooms here but there's been a problem with the area, and I was wondering if there is any way we could transfer those rooms to your location instead."

"Yes, I believe so. What name are the rooms registered under?" The receptionist on the other end asked.

"McCloud."

"McCl-…Fox McCloud? The mercenary team?" The girl cried in disbelief.

"Yes."

"Oh, of course!"

"I'm terribly sorry about having to do this. It's just that word got out that we're here, and now we've got the paparazzi breathing down our necks and crowding the doors."

"Oh, no! I'm so sorry! The computer says here your rooms are on the top floor. Would you like to keep the same room numbers when you transfer?"

"Yes, please, if they're available."

"They are indeed! I'm sorry about your problem. Our location is in a better part of town - if they follow you here we can have security come and chase them off for you."

"Thank you, much appreciated. We'll be there shortly."

Fox handed the phone back to the receptionist and turned to the team. "Alright. Here's the plan. We split up into three groups and take separate cabs. If you're spotted, run the opposite way of the hotel and lose them. We're trained mercenaries. We ought to be able to ditch a few paparazzi and crazy fans. Got it?"

"Yessiree!" Katt said enthusiastically.

"Slippy and Peppy, you two stay together. You two probably aren't going to get mobbed by crazy girls if you get spotted."

"Roger that." Peppy chuckled. "My stud days are long over, now. Lucky me."

Slippy pouted, but followed Peppy out the side door to the sidewalk. They hailed the first cab they saw after only a few seconds.

Fox's wrist communicator beeped. "Alright. Katt and Falco, you're next. If you see any fans or reporters let me know."

The avian and the feline exited the door, tailed closely by the massive suitcase Katt was dragging behind her.

Fox and Krystal stood waiting by the door.

"I received a death threat earlier…" Krystal said.

He turned from watching through the glass to staring wide-eyed at her. "What! From who?" He demanded.

"I think it was that girl from the space station. The one who gave you directions into the cargo fleet."

He frowned. "Are you sure?"

"Well, it could have been her twin sister." She said sarcastically.

"What did she say?"

"I don't remember exactly, but I distinctly recall being told that if I didn't watch my back she was going to shoot me in it."

"Wait. She was here?"

"Yes. In the lobby. In fact she was the one who was piloting the vehicle we arrived here in."

A worried expression crossed his face. "Stay near me. I don't want anything to happen to you. That's an order."

She nodded with a slight smirk. "Yes sir."

"Good." He offered a half smile. "First day with the team and you're already getting death threats." His wrist comm beeped. "That's our cue. Come on." He opened the door for her and they walked out into the back alley. When they reached the street, Fox stood by the edge of the sidewalk on the lookout for a taxi.

"Look! It's Fox McCloud!" Someone cried.

"Run!" Fox reached over and grabbed Krystal's hand, prompting various camera flashes. Together, they ran back down the alley and out the other end. He glanced over his shoulder to see a small group of about six people chasing them. One of them, a cheetah, had a camera and was trying to snap a more clear photo of them.

He made a sharp left, pulling Krystal behind him. "Why do cheetahs have to be so damn fast?" They ran down the sidewalk to the next cross street and made a right, sprinting across the street just as the light changed. He pulled her into a doorway halfway down the next block and pushed through the door into a little shop. They ran to the counter and ducked behind it next to the startled young jaguar who worked there.

"Phew! That was close!" Fox said. They exchanged looks and then burst out laughing.

"Um, excuse me…" The jaguar said. "Customers aren't allowed behind the counter."

Fox looked up. "Oh don't worry. We're not customers. We're only stowaways." He grinned.

The boy stared at him for a few seconds.

"C'mon. Let's get a taxi." Fox said to Krystal. They stood up and he went to the window to check if the coast was clear. The group he had seen a moment ago chasing them was nowhere in sight. He stepped outside with Krystal behind him and waved at a passing taxi. It paid him no mind.

He sighed. "Taxis are a pain, but they're the best way to leave no trail."

Krystal pointed to the yellow cab that was driving away. "That's a taxi?"

Fox hesitated for a moment, remembering that she had never been here before. "Yes."

"How do you make them stop?"

"You have to get their attention somehow, either by waving or whistling usually. I just wave. I…can't whistle very well." Fox explained, slightly embarrassed that he couldn't whistle loudly through his teeth like most people.

She looked out over the three lanes of the road that were heading in their direction next to the sidewalk. She spotted a yellow cab and waved. It showed no signs of slowing down. She lifted her fingers to her lips and whistled the loudest high pitched whistle Fox had ever heard.

The taxi slowed down and pulled to the side of the road for them.

"Whoa! Where'd you learn to whistle like that?" Fox asked.

She laughed. "Back home. My brother taught me. He told me if I was in trouble, I should whistle to avoid suspicion. He said if he ever heard me whistle he would know I was in trouble and come running."

Fox opened the door and they climbed into the taxi.

"Dang, was that you who whistled?" The young black and white cat in the driver's seat asked.

"Yes." Krystal smiled proudly.

"That was amazing. I've only ever heard one person whistle like that. Course it looked natural coming from him, he was kind of a big guy. Where ya headed?"

"Corneria Inn, the one above." Fox said.

"Alrighty. Corneria Inn it is. Say, where did you learn to whistle?"

"My brother taught me, years ago."

"Ah, yeah? I gotta wonder, is your brother tall? I feel like I may have given him a ride."

She smiled politely, "actually, he's passed away, a few years ago."

"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to pry. You, uh... have an interesting accent. Not from around here, I take it?"

She shook her head. "Not at all. I'm from a far away planet. I've never been to Corneria before now."

The cat smiled. "Well, if no one's told you yet, welcome to Corneria!"

"Thank you!" Krystal said.

The cat stared for a moment at Fox. "Say, you look familiar… What's your name?"

Fox hesitated. "James."

Krystal stared at him doubtfully for a moment, but her telepathy told her that he wasn't lying.

"Oh, sorry. I thought you were someone else. You…you look a lot like that mercenary, Fox McCloud."

Fox grinned. "Oh yeah, I get that a lot." He glanced at Krystal, who was still staring at him. It occurred to him that she hadn't known that his real name was James.

"Well, nice to meet you James! I'm Tom. And what's your name, lovely lady?"

"My name is Krystal." She replied.

"It's my pleasure to drive you two." Tom said. The car climbed up the freeway and through the tunnel to the surface of the planet. They reached the Corneria Inn without further incident.

Fox paid Tom the due credits with a nice tip and they exited the car at the hotel. The rest of the team was already waiting inside.

"What took you so long?" Katt asked.

"We had to take a detour. The press caught sight of us." Fox replied. He walked over to the receptionist. "Hi, I called earlier about the six rooms."

"Yes, I remember. If we can just have you scan your palm prints here for room access." She pointed to the black pad on the counter. Fox placed his hand on it. A red line moved down and then up, scanning his hand.

He turned to the rest of the team expectantly. Katt walked up next, followed by Falco, Peppy, and Slippy. Krystal watched curiously.

"Just place your hand on the black pad and wait for the red light to turn off." Fox said quietly. She followed his instructions and the receptionist gave them the room numbers.

The way the system worked, their individual hand print would work once on the designated rooms. Whichever they chose would assign them as the room's occupant, and other hand prints would no longer work on that room. They stepped into the elevator.

Fox pressed the button for the top floor. The doors slid shut and the elevator shot upwards toward floor number seventy two. Krystal gasped and nearly fell. Fox caught her arm.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Why does it do that?" She asked.

"We're heading to the top floor. It's seventy two floors above ground, so the elevator has to go really fast to clear the space in a reasonable amount of time. To compensate, there's a gravity field that balances things so that we don't get suddenly sucked to the floor or thrown to the ceiling. That's the slight jolt you feel. Ideally it would be smooth, but there's still some small kinks in the technology." Fox explained.

"That's amazing!"

They reached the top floor a few seconds later, and the elevator stopped with a jolt. Krystal grabbed the bar with one hand and Fox's arm with the other. They stepped out and looked around.

The hotel building itself got slimmer as it grew higher, with less and less rooms as it went upwards. The top three floors only had ten rooms, where the bottom three floors had forty-four rooms each.

There were black pads attached to the wall right outside each door. The doors had no knobs. Katt, Falco, and Slippy were the first to exit the elevator, each running for one room out of the specified numbers.

"I call the end room!" Falco said, running for the room on the far left.

Slippy wound up and leaped through the air, landing in front of Falco and slamming his hand on the pad.

Falco threw his arms in the air in a show of his exasperation. "Seriously, Slippy?" As he was busy being upset, Peppy walked up to the room next to Slippy's and scanned his print. "Peppy!" Falco threw his arms down to his side. "I can't believe I've been so betrayed." The old hare chuckled. Falco walked to the room next to Peppy's and scanned his print. "Jokes on you, though, because now you gotta room next to me."

Katt scanned the pad to the right of his. "Oh, goodie! Free audio for pay-per-view porn!" She looked over at Fox and winked, having just ensured that he and Krystal would have adjacent rooms.

"Well, here we are…" Fox said.

"I've never been to a hotel before." Krystal said. Fox walked up to the door next to Katt's.

"Here, you can have this room so you'll be near Katt. Just put your hand here."

She walked up and touched her palm to the pad. The door clicked and opened wide. "Whoa…" She smiled, turning to Fox. He shrugged and gestured to the doorway.

"We'll be staying here at least a couple of days while the Great Fox is repaired. I'll take you to the General's office tomorrow to see what we need to do about your licenses."

She nodded. "Alright. What about…food?"

Fox reached up to his vest and took a little silver rectangular device from his pocket, about the size of his index finger. He handed it to Krystal. "You can order room service if you would like, or if you want something else you can look at the phone listings. It should be on a tablet in one of the desk drawers. Call in a delivery, and give them this. It's got about a thousand credits on it, so don't worry about prices. There should be a comm device next to the bed, you can use that to call in your orders. And if you would rather go out and buy something, just let me know so that you're not alone. Your safety comes first."

She stared in awe at the little silver stick. "How does it work?"

"It holds computerized credits. Whenever you want to pay for something, just hand it to the person you're paying and they'll charge it for you. Nothing to it." He said. "Just don't lose it... anyone else can use it, too."

"Wow… thank you."

"Of course. If you need anything, I'll be in the room next to you." He pointed to the last empty one. "Just knock."

"Yessir!" She smiled and mock saluted.

He chuckled and walked to the right. "See you in the morning."

Krystal stepped onto the beige carpet and closed the door behind her. The walls of the room were a creamy off-white. Everything was well lit from the large floor-to-ceiling window on the far wall. To the right, there was a narrow closet door. Just beyond it the hallway opened diagonally into a small kitchen with a compact refrigerator, a sink, a microwave, a small wine cooler pre-stocked with 3 bottles, and a stove.

On the left wall was a door, a few feet past the entrance, that led to a luxurious bathroom. On the right side of the bathroom was a deep brown granite counter top with green swirls and golden flakes. There were two raised-bowl sinks and a wide mirror above the counter. The floors were softly textured brown tile with white grout. To the left was a large tub with jets along the side, and several shower nozzles along the walls to create a rain-like effect. The toilet sat in the corner behind the shower, with a fancy bidet system and a mechanism to warm the user's feet if wanted.

At the end of the hallway, about ten feet long, there was an opening to the left into a spotless bedroom. The walls were slightly off-white with dark brown trim, while the bed comforter, pillow cases, and sheets were pure white.

She walked back into the main room. There was a couch not far from the large window with a giant paper-thin television screen across from it, hung on the wall. A glass coffee table rested in front of the couch. Giving enough space behind the couch for the window's glory, there stood near the wall a tall, square, dark brown, wooden table with four stool seats for guests.

The window seemed to be outlined, and there was a silver handle attached in the middle. Outside, there was a balcony with a glorious view of the city. It was upon notice of said balcony that Krystal realized the window was actually a sliding glass door.

She walked out onto the solid dark brown tile and looked down over the white railing. The street that was far, far below was not even visible through the wispy clouds that had rolled in like an ocean tide. From this height, it would be near impossible to make out details even on a clear day.

The sun was just beginning to set over the horizon, and the sky began to turn a brilliant array of pink, orange, purple, and blue. The clouds had melted together in rolls below like ocean waves. She looked out at the breathtaking view, and for a moment she imagined that she could be on the beach on Cerinia.

"It's pretty, isn't it?"

Krystal turned to her right, startled by the sudden voice. Fox was standing on the adjacent balcony looking over the sunset. She smiled a bit. "It's absolutely beautiful."

He looked over at her. "It's not as beautiful as…" he paused, suddenly aware that he was speaking aloud, but then realized he would have to finish the sentence or risk looking foolish. "…as you." He turned his face down and blushed fiercely.

Krystal smiled and her cheeks flushed red. "Thank you…"

Fox choked down his pride and fear. "Well, it's…it's true, ya know."

She could not suppress her childish grin.  _He thinks I'm beautiful…_

It was silent for a moment.

"You're not so bad yourself, handsome." Krystal said.

Fox's pulse spiked and his face grew hot. "Oh…uhh…rea-…? Err…thanks…" He bit down on his lip until it hurt. The pain subsided after a few seconds, and then he realized he had cut off circulation to the part he had bitten. He released his now tender lip and licked it.

"I should…" Krystal began, gesturing toward the glass door.

"Wait." Fox said. A plan formed in his mind, but it made his heart pound uncontrollably. He walked over to the railing closest to her balcony. There was about three feet of space between his rail and hers.

"Yeah?"

He looked around, like he was afraid that someone would be eavesdropping and gestured her towards him. He could already feel sweat gathering on his palms and under his arms. He casually wiped his hands on his pants as she walked to the edge with a questioning look. His resolve was already weakening, and his mind was already trying its best to talk him out of it. "I have to tell you something," he said, "but, it's... a secret."

A grin crossed her face. "Alright…" She said, intrigued. She could sense his nervousness, and couldn't resist a quick peek into his mind. He was going to tell her anyways, right?

He placed one hand on her side of the gap for balance and leaned toward her.  _I just have to get the words out, now. To tell her that she's the most beautiful woman I've ever seen, that I'd miss a thousand of these sunsets just to look upon her face, that I'd really like to kiss her again and agai-_

Her head turned suddenly and for a moment he thought he had done something wrong. His stomach exploded in butterflies and he realized she was kissing him. His eyes were open for a few seconds, still registering the fact that she was actually kissing him. She pulled back slightly and then tilted her head as she kissed him deep. His eyes fluttered closed and his heart simultaneously melted and exploded.

The warmth of her mouth sent electric tingles down to his fingers and toes.

She pulled back after only a few seconds. "What was it you wanted to tell me?" She asked.

He blinked several times, trying to reorganize his scattered brain cells. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. He blinked again. "I'd, uhh… was saying gonna… Err…" His heart was racing still, and his face was hot with a deep blush. "I, the…"

She stared at him with a tender and slightly amused look.

"I…think…I…forgot…" He said slowly, struggling to form a coherent sentence for her. "It had something to tongue with-err, do! Something to  _do_ with…I…" He grimaced. "I'm…going to shut up…before I ki-make…make of an…"

She was smiling at him, although with the amused look in her eyes it was more of a smirk.

He turned around and paced a few steps away, running his hands through the fur on his head. "I'm sorry…"

"It's alright… you can tell me tomorrow." She said, stepping towards the balcony door.

He looked at her, feeling completely helpless.  _I can't talk! I can't even make a sentence! I'm such an idiot!_ He thought.

She turned and reached for the door. "Goodnight, Fox." She said, not looking at him.

Without thinking, he ran toward her and vaulted over the railing onto her balcony, using his arm as leverage. She turned around to face him, eyes wide.

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a passionate kiss. He broke away after several seconds and planted several soft kisses on her mouth and cheeks. "You're beautiful," he said between kisses, "and amazing, and lovely..." He planted one last kiss on her forehead.

Seeing the shocked look on her face, he stepped away from her. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you. I'm sorry."

She covered her face with her hands in embarrassment, hiding her beaming grin. "No! It's okay, I just... I wasn't expecting that."

"I'll... I'll go now. Sorry. Um... have... have a good night, Krystal." Fox quickly shuffled out of her room and back into his own.

Krystal stood dazed for a moment, and then she walked back into her own room and closed the door. The sun had vanished, leaving a deep purple and dark blue haze over the sky. It was a wonderful end to a long day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really don't have anything to say here.
> 
> Katt: Pfft. Yeah flippin right. That's a first.
> 
> Me: Oh, shut up. Just enjoy the fluff moment.


	8. Training Grounds

"Fox…"

_No…_

"Fox…"

_Oh, come on… I'm trying to sleep._

"You are sleeping."

_Oh, right… wait. If I'm sleeping, how are we conversing?_

"Dreams are funny things, aren't they?" The man's voice said. He sounded young, probably twenty years old at most.

Fox slowly opened his eyes, squinting at the brightness.

"No, no. Close your eyes. Don't wake up yet."

He obeyed.

"I have something important to tell you about Krystal."

_Krystal…_

"Her destiny is predetermined. You cannot get in the way of that. Terrible things will happen if you do."

_Destiny…?_

"She is depending on you… for her life."

_Hey, wait. I've heard that before. Nice job ripping off the Krazoa…_

"I thought you'd appreciate familiarity. Anyway, what I said was true. When the time comes, you need to help her. Protect her with your life, Fox. She is far more important than you realize."

_I didn't even know that was possible…_

"Yes, you've grown quite fond of her, haven't you?"

_I'm not even sure fond is the right word…_

"Good. That will make it easier for you to protect her. Just know that if anything happens to her…I will kill you myself if it's the last thing I do. Well, it would be the last thing I do… It's… it's complicated."

_Sure…you're a figment of my imagination. So now my mind wants to kill me? What are you going to do, try and make me kill myself?_

"Don't tempt me. I'm very powerful."

A girl's voice chimed in. "Oh, calm down. The point is to let him know about her mission, not to kill him or scare him."

_Why would I be scared of a dream?_

"You told him it was a dream?" The girl asked.

"Well, what choice did I have? He can't see us. If he were entirely conscious he might even think he was going crazy."

"You're still connected."

… _this is a really weird dream._

"Yeah, sorry. I lied. This is all real. Just remember… protect her. It's all riding on her."

Fox grimaced and opened his eyes. The white was blinding… he covered his face with his arm and squinted to let his pupils adjust. He was inside his hotel room. The sun was pouring through the giant windows and reflecting off the white walls and light carpet, giving a bright glow to the room. The vulpine rolled over and groaned, burying his face into the pillow.

Then sat up with a start. He reached over to the nightstand the bed and snatched remote off it. Three clicks tinted the windows enough to see clearly without squinting or risking retina damage.

He had to wonder why they could not tint automatically.

He checked the clock. It was eight in the morning.

With a moan of irritation, he buried his face back in the pillow.  _Five more minutes..._

( **Meanwhile…** )

Krystal slept soundly in the white bed. She had fallen asleep in her clothes.

From the angle the man stood, she almost looked to be glowing. But then he had always found her beauty intoxicating. He walked to the side of her bed and picked up the small remote from atop the nightstand. The light from the windows would wake her… He tinted it down and set the remote back down. The window hadn't tinted yet, but he knew it would shortly.

Time was stopped.

Being not quite dead, yet not quite alive, he was like a ghost. The energy keeping him alive was potent, but he could only access a fraction of it. By using this energy, he could make his body corporeal, but only for a fraction of a second. In that second, the expulsion of energy caused his body to accelerate to incredible speed, making it seem as though time had ceased for a short moment. This was the only way he could appear as a living being and interact with objects. But even still, other beings were frozen to him.

He reached over to the bed and gently smoothed the blankets a bit. She inhaled deeply and sighed in her sleep. This simple action startled him immensely. The pain in his stomach began to surface, and he relaxed his abilities.

Time resumed as normal.

She could not see him, smell him, hear him, or feel him. Neither would he be able to touch any solid object or make himself known in any way. Somehow she had breathed, even when she should have been frozen in time. This single occurrence was something he hadn't thought possible.

He had thought several times of leaving her a note, but thoughts of what to say to explain everything that had happened had quickly choked out that idea. Now that he had the potential opportunity to see her face to face... No, he couldn't risk that. Besides, she was already falling for Fox. To reveal himself now would make it complicated and unfair to her, he thought. Instead he would remain like this; her invisible guardian, watching over her to make sure nothing bad would happen to her. He knew what was coming, but he also knew there was no way he could stop it. All he could do was ensure her safety until the last moment.

He sighed deeply and walked out of the room. The one advantage to his state was that he did not need to use doors. He simply went through them like they were air.

Krystal stirred from her sleep. She stretched out her limbs as far as she could reach them and took a deep breath, exhaling it in a wide yawn before opening her eyes. The room seemed quite dark for morning, but the sun was reflecting off a nearby tall building.

She rolled over and looked out the window. The entire wall was made of clear glass, allowing the maximum view of the city below. There was a remote on the little nightstand beside the bed. She picked it up.

There were two buttons: one with an up arrow, and one with a down arrow. She pressed the one labeled up, and the room became brighter.

She pressed down, and it got darker.

The windows controlled the lighting, and the remote controlled the windows.

"That's brilliant." She muttered to herself.  _It must have some sort of automatic setting for the brightness of the mornings._

Her stomach growled.

_First things first. I need to get dressed in something clean. And then I'm going to take Fox's advice and get myself something delicious for breakfast. I don't even think I ate dinner last night…_

She snatched the bag Katt had given her off the counter and picked out a pair of jean shorts and a white t-shirt. There was a black folder on the counter that she had not noticed before.

It was labeled in neat cursive Lylatian:  _Room Service_.

( **A little while later, some distance from the hotel…** )

"I want her dead. I don't know why she's alive and I don't care. I want her  _dead_. And I want you to kill her." The girl snapped. Her temper was short normally, but now she seemed to be in a permanently cross mood.

"Alright, sweetheart. I'll kill her." With a deep sigh the man raised his fingers to massage his right temple. His headaches were getting worse.

"She should have died on Cerinia. You said she was dead."

"I thought she was."

"Well, you were wrong!"

"Obviously."

"What are you going to do? I want to know how you're going to do it."

"I'll think of something."

"Well hurry up."

"She knows me, darling. I can't just walk up and kill her. She'll spot me a mile away."

"What about the kid? He could probably invent something, so she can't tell it's you."

He sighed. "He's already working on something of the sort. A device to block telepaths. Last I checked, he was nearly done with it."

"That's perfect. Use that."

"She still knows what I look like."

"Then do it carefully. Maybe you could reveal yourself first. Let her fall for you again, so she trusts you. Then murder her violently. I want her to suffer."

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say."

"That's not good enough."

"What do you want me to do, blow up the whole planet?"

"Of course not." She paused. "Actually… an explosion. That's just the sort of thing that would lure her in. She didn't recognize you back on Cerinia. Use the same disguise. Threaten to blow up the power plants. A nuclear meltdown or some major disaster."

"They haven't used nuclear devices in ages, love. They were proven too unstable and deadly. Everyone uses warp energy now."

"Well, trash their power plant. Their little team will come running, first sign of trouble. Finish her then and it will look like an accident. Killed in action." She smiled at the thought of her nemesis lying dead and bleeding on the floor.

"If I destroy the power plant, half the planet won't have power. Besides, there's a lot of security."

"I worked at the communication central of the damn Lylat system. I know their codes by heart. If we send them certain codes they'll all just... simultaneously take a break. Maybe we could get the kid to help."

"This isn't sounding like a terrible plan."

"Good…" She looked into his eyes. "This is one of the things I love about you. You're so determined and brilliant."

He offered a half grin. "Of course. It's not like you could love me for my money." He chuckled. They both knew he didn't have a credit to his name.

"No… but I do love your body." She said, climbing onto his lap in a seductive manner. She placed her arms around his neck and planted a rough kiss on his lips. "I love you."

"Prove it." He taunted, tugging at her shirt sleeve.

"Oh, I will…"

( **Meanwhile…** )

Krystal finished off the last of the incredibly delicious wonder that the Cornerians called cheese blintzes. It was a fluffy mixture of cream cheese filling rolled inside of a soft, sweet tortilla and lightly dusted in powdered sugar with syrup drizzled over the top. Never in her life had she tasted something so amazing.

The room service was definitely something she liked.

There was a knock at the door.

She looked up, startled, fork still hanging in her mouth. A simple trick of her telepathic senses told her it was Fox. He was ready to take her to the General's office for training. She hopped off the couch and ran lightly to the door to open it.

Fox blushed a little and smiled at the sight of her. She had donned a light pink tank top and a very short pair of jean shorts. "Hi," he said.

She took the fork out of her mouth and smiled back. "Good morning. I was, er… just finishing breakfast."

"Oh, well… take your time."

"No, I'm… I'm almost ready. I just need shoes. I'll only be a minute." She ran down the hall and turned left at the bedroom. She was back out in a few seconds with lace-less sneakers and closed the door behind her.

"Alright. Let's go." Fox said.

She followed him into the elevator.

"Isn't there a way to make the elevator ride smoother? Some sort of stabilizer?" Krystal asked.

Fox hesitated, caught slightly off guard by her sudden knowledge of stabilizers and elevators. "The technology is quite expensive, so some places tend to cheap-out and get a lower grade version of it. At least they have this bar to hold onto, though." He said, grabbing onto the metal rail with one hand. He pushed the button for the lobby with the other.

Krystal grabbed the bar with both hands and was ready for the elevator's lurch into high speed. A few seconds later it stopped just as suddenly, but she was ready this time.

They exited the elevator and crossed the lobby. Fox raised his arm to hail a taxi. One pulled to the curb. He opened the door for Krystal and climbed in behind her.

"Where to?" The driver asked.

"Downtown. The capital military building."

"Where?"

"I'm not sure of the address. There's a tall building, and a bunch of smaller warehouses. It's heavily guarded…?"

"Oh, that place. Sheesh." The feline looked in his rearview mirror. "Oh hey, it's you! Remember me? I'm Tom. I was your driver yesterday."

Fox looked up. "Oh, hi." He smiled.

"What're you guys going to the military headquarters for? Or…" He paused and looked from side to side, as if to check for eavesdroppers. "…is it top secret?"

Fox chuckled. "Something like that." He winked at Krystal.

"Ah, I get it. And you'll have to kill me if you tell me, right?" Tom laughed at his own joke as he pulled into traffic.

Fox grinned. "Nah, it's nothing that serious. We're looking into a pilot's license, that's all. I'm friends with the military general, General Pepper. He's gonna set us up with something."

"Oh, wow! Exciting! Ever flown before?"

"Lots of times." Fox said. "Krystal's a new…err… well, she's a bit new to piloting, and you need a license and testing before it's legal to pilot any registered ship."

"I see, I see…" Tom hesitated, giving Fox a doubtful look. "You know, this whole thing is awful suspicious. You said your name was… James?"

"Yep."

"That one hero was named James… He had a son, and we know him as Fox McCloud. And, it just so happens that McCloud and gang is back in town with a new team member, a beautiful stranger with blue fur named Krystal." He looked through his mirror and straight into her eyes, squinting suspiciously.

Fox laughed nervously. "Is that so?"

"Yeah. Not to mention, they're mercenaries, who  _fly_  around in space ships." Tom grinned deviously. "I'm willing to bet my entire bank account that you two are Fox McCloud and Krystal of the Star Fox team."

Fox chuckled uneasily. "You got us."

"I knew it!"

"Just please promise not to let anything get out about us or our location. The whole famous thing is a little… tough to deal with. I only go by James when I need to lay low. You know, paparazzi and crazy fans and all."

Tom grinned. "Yeah, I can't say I know how it is, but I know what you mean. Your team has saved the known world more than once. Boy, I'm almost a little star struck!" He chortled at his own joke. "Star struck by Star Fox. Ha! Don't worry though, the secret's safe with me. I won't tell a soul."

"We appreciate your discretion." Fox said.

"Now, look. I know I ain't really got a right to be asking favors of you, but hear me out. My job is competitive, and it don't pay well. If you were to, say, hire me, as your personal chauffeur... I could take some under the table cash, I'll give ya a discount, and you won't have to worry about randos in cabs rattin ya out!"

Fox considered the request for a moment before replying, exchanging glances with Krystal.

She sensed his hesitation. " _It's alright, Fox. He's being honest, he has good intentions._ "

"Hmm… well, I suppose we could use a private chauffeur. Under the guise of a cab, we'd blend in and lower the risk of being followed. We'll be out within a couple hours, but I don't want you to have to wait around. Do you have a comm or something?"

"I got hands free." The feline replied as he turned off the highway and onto a narrow road.

"Perfect." Fox held up his wrist comm and punched a few buttons. "Just accept my request, and I'll call when we need a ride." He said. He glanced out the window at the familiar sight of open blacktop that was spaced with metal walled warehouse buildings.

"Alright! I'll be there, boss!" He turned left into the tall building's parking lot. It was blocked by a large metal gate with a booth off to the left. The security guard inside the booth readied his weapon.

"Here is fine. Thanks, Tom." Fox got out of the car and held the door open for Krystal. He handed Tom a silver credit stick. "How much?"

"Ride was 15."

"Charge it for 25, the change is yours."

"Thanks! I appreciate it." Tom replied. "You have a wonderful day, Mr McCloud."

Krystal waved as the taxi drove away.

The canine security guard exited the booth, holding his gun firmly pointed at the ground. "Can I help you?"

Fox turned around. "Yes! I'm James McCloud Jr. and this is Krystal. We're here for an appointment with General Pepper."

"Do you have an I.D.?"

Fox took his wallet out of his pocket and showed the guard his piloting license.

"Alright. Let me just contact the General to be sure."

"No problem." Fox said.

The security guard stepped back into his booth and pressed a few buttons on the computer. "General?"

"What is it?"

"There's a James McCloud Jr. here to see you."

"Ah, yes. Fox! Send him up."

"Yes, sir." He waved to Fox and deactivated the pedestrian gate lock. The metal door opened and Fox led Krystal through it. The elevator was to the right. They stepped in.

"Another one?" Krystal asked.

"They're all over the place. No one likes to walk up twenty or more flights of stairs." Fox said. They rode the elevator to the tenth floor and stepped off. He led her down the hall and to the General's office.

The door was open.

"General, what have I told you about leaving that door open? It's not safe." Fox said.

The old dog turned around and smiled. "Well, hello to you too, Fox. And this must be Krystal!" He held out his hand.

She hesitated for a moment, not sure what he wanted. An image of two people shaking hands entered her mind from his. She stepped forward and took his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, sir."

"Mutual, I'm sure. So, you're here for a mercenary license and a pilot's license, right?"

"Yes." Fox replied.

"Well then, let's get started. Once you fill out this paperwork, we'll take you on down to the training grounds to test your abilities. Your stats will be printed on your mercenary license for customer benefit." He handed her a clipboard shaped device with a screen and an electronic pen. The screen on the device was lit up and had several lines to fill out. She stared blankly at the symbols on the paper.

Despite her knowledge of the spoken language of Lylatian, she had never been taught to read.  _It can't be that hard..._  She thought. She pushed the image of the screen into Fox's mind and listened for his thoughts.  _Name..._

Her pen hovered over the space.

"You can sit down to fill it out, sweetheart." The general said.

"Oh, thanks." There were two chairs against the wall. She sat in one and Fox took the other. She looked at him. " _I'm sorry... I have to do this."_  Her thoughts projected into his mind.

His eyes widened in surprise.

_"I'm afraid I've never actually learned to read. But I don't want to tell him that."_

He stared at her for a moment, mouth agape. "Uhh..."

_"Hush, don't let him know. I know this says "Name." I know how to spell, but I don't know what any of the Lylatian symbols look like in writing. Picture them in your mind and I will write them._ " She instructed.

He stared at the screen and tried to picture her name printed on the blank. She slowly and neatly wrote the letters out one by one. With his help, Krystal was able to fill out the entire form without the general catching on. She was slightly wary of spending so much time connected to Fox's mind. An extended exposure to someone's mind often led to a strong emotional bond between the two. As much as she wanted this bond with him, she wanted it to be natural.

She had picked up a few stray thoughts from him on accident, all about her. She hoped that he had not noticed her blushing while she was writing.

The form was completed, and she handed the device back to the general. He looked it over. "You have very neat handwriting." He said.

She blushed a bit. "Thank you."

"Alright, the information is in the main computer. I'll escort you down to the training grounds for a series of ability tests. Once you're done there, you will be a licensed mercenary and pilot." He smiled and walked out of the room with both foxes following him.

They went into an elevator and went down to the basement. The tunnels before them would lead to the training grounds. The general and Fox exited the elevator. Krystal mustered up a deep breath for confidence, and stepped forward.


	9. Versus Mode

General Pepper led the two foxes down through the buildings and across a concrete parking lot. Most modern vehicles only used hover technology, but military equipment still sported tires in case of emergency or hover radio shutdown. The building in which the training grounds resided was only one story above Corneria's surface, but it tunneled deep into the core.

The trio entered the building through a side door made of sheet metal that looked like it was about to fall down. Krystal more than half expected the "training grounds" to be nothing but the small interior of the old warehouse; deserted, dusty, and with sunlight poking through the ceiling. She was not disappointed by the shabby appearance when she stepped in.

The General walked to an old crate and sat down. Fox and Krystal stood facing him. "Now," he said in a serious tone, "I need your solemn oath that no matter what occurs in this building, you will not tell a single being in the universe of what you have seen, and will see. Not one word will slip to anyone, dead or alive, whether it be me, or Fox, or anyone else you know, have known, or will know someday, once you leave this building."

Krystal sensed that this room was filled with many secrets. Curiosity rose. "I swear, I will not speak a word of it." She said, holding her right hand up. She sensed that Fox had made this oath several times without the explicit intention of keeping it. The way of liars was to cross ones fingers behind their back, somehow relieving them of the burden of an oath.

"Now Fox, I trust you will stand witness to her statement." said the old dog.

Fox glanced at Krystal. He grinned, noticing her left hand behind her back with crossed fingers. "I shall."

"Very good. What happens in the training grounds  _stays_  in the training grounds. Now..." Pepper stood and stepped forward. He reached up his left hand and pressed a button on his watch. A hologram emitted from the watch and scanned his eye. He then pressed his left thumb over the surface. "This is Pepper, boys. I have two guests, non hostile for the training room."

"Are you certain they are not hostile?"

"Sure as sunshine." This exchange, Krystal sensed, was a code phrase to let them know that everything was all right. Were any other phrase to be uttered, an ambush would await them at the bottom.

"Affirmative. We're bringing you down now."

Krystal gasped as the floor beneath her feet shifted and began to move downwards. She reached out and grabbed Fox's hand. He blushed and looked at her, gently closing his fingers around hers. A mechanical device formed walls around their platform that locked into place. The ground they had been standing on was now an elevator, fully lit with blue liquid crystal lights. The walls were a strong metal alloy, strong enough to hold back nearly any bombardment from the surface.

The elevator came to a stop and the trio stepped off. Pepper led them through a series of metal tunnels, moderately lit by blue light strips in the corners. He seemed to be muttering directions to himself as they went.

"Left...right...forward...forward...right...forward...left...forward...right...left..."

After several moments of navigating, they reached a dead end. Pepper walked up to the far wall and ran his palms down the center. A beep was heard, and a door opened into the wall. He led the couple inside.

The room was small and made of the same metal as the rest of the underground fortress.

"I will have to ask you to unarm yourselves here." Pepper said. He picked up a large bin from near the door and held it up.

Fox hesitated a moment before dropping Krystal's hand. It was only then, with a deep blush, that the vixen realized she had never let go once off the elevator. Fox reached down to his boots and pulled out a large knife from each. He handed them to the General, and then took four guns from his vest, two from his belt, and one from under his shirt on his back. He checked the safety on each and handed them to Pepper.

The canine stared at him for a moment. "Is that it, Fox?"

"Yeah." He replied, slipping his hands into his pockets. "Oh...wait." He shoved his left hand into his pants and pulled another small gun off his thigh. "There ya go."

Krystal watched the entire procedure in shock. The other vulpine caught her stare and looked over.

He blushed and shrugged. "What? You gotta be prepared..."

Pepper sighed. "Is that  _really_  it this time?"

"Yes, sir." Fox replied.

The General shook his head and turned to the wall. A drawer slid out and he placed the weapons inside.

"Um...General?" Krystal called politely.

"Yes, ma'am?"

"I, uh..." Fox and the dog both turned to her as she reached down her shirt and plucked a small knife from her bra. She grinned sheepishly.

Fox had the sudden urge to kiss her. He bit his lip instead. The General stored the weapons in the hidden drawer and walked to the wall opposite the door they had come in.

Another door opened, this one with an arch that scanned for deadly weapons. Fox and Krystal walked through without incident.

The General stepped through with a loud alarm. He immediately retreated, and the alarm ceased. "I..." He checked his pockets and removed a small pistol. "Sorry." He blushed and stored it with the other weapons while Fox and Krystal exchanged amused glances.

The room they were in was three times the size of the small entry room they had just exited. The far wall was glass, but whatever lay beyond the glass was in complete darkness.

"I've got your suits here."

"Suits?" Fox asked.

"You and her will be competing in a series of short battles to ascertain her abilities." Pepper replied.

"But that's not..."

"Nonsense. Because your abilities are recorded, and with your previous training and field experience, we can measure her status up against yours for a more accurate record." He held up two auto-fitting suits, made with self-regulating unstable molecules. The suits were designed to automatically form to the shape of any body inside them as well as regulate body temperature and keep the wearer from being uncomfortably warm or cold. They also had a decent fire and explosion tolerance. "If you could please leave your underwear  _on..._ " The dog said, handing the suits to the foxes.

"Uh, General...where do we...?" Fox began.

"Oh, no one's looking. I'll be setting up the computer for your battleground." He interrupted, waving off the question with his hand and walking over to the computer.

Fox's face turned a deep shade of red.

Krystal was already out of her shirt and undoing her pants. He glanced at her and then quickly turned away, covering the right side of his face with his hand. She giggled. "Oh, calm down. It's nothing you haven't seen before." She teased, referring to the clothes she had worn when they first met.

His jaw dropped and his face reddened further at the sideways glance he received from the General.

The vixen slipped her legs into the suit and pulled it up to her hips. "How interesting. It's almost, sort of...slimy." She commented as she pulled the sleeves onto her arms. There was still a gaping hole in the back that required zipping up. "Fox, do you think you could...?" She began, turning her back toward him and lifting her short hair off her neck.

"Uh...yeah." He said, turning around. The top half of his suit hung lazily from his waist, leaving his muscular chest exposed. He reached over and gently trailed his finger upwards along her spine, starting from the open spot in the suit. A light on the material followed his hands to the top, sealing the suit in the back. It tucked and smoothed itself to fit as a second skin on Krystal's body, leaving a small space for her tail, neck, and hands. An invisible shield would emanate from each of these vulnerable spots to protect her once plugged into the navigational bracelet.

"Thank you..." She turned around and caught her breath at the sight of his bare, well shaped muscles. She managed to play it off with a shy smile and turned around quickly. Her pulse had spiked in that moment. She took a slow breath to calm her heart, but could not resist another peek. The form-fitting outfit hugged his calves, thighs, and... other areas, showing off his body nicely. "My, these don't leave much to the imagination."

Fox turned to her, noticed the direction of her gaze, and gasped audibly in horror. He quickly turned away from her and slipped one arm under the suit to make certain assets less visible. Once his arms were back in place, he reached behind him toward the electronic zipper and managed to get it almost halfway up his back. He grimaced in effort, trying to make his arms stretch just a little bit farther. A soft hand touched his shoulder.

"Here... let me." She offered.

"Oh... thanks..."

"Just returning the favor." Krystal replied, leading the zipper slowly to the nape of his neck. Her finger lightly brushed his skin on its way up. The physical contact was unexpected, and the strong emotions from Fox touched her mind like lightning. Her telepathy occasionally could transfer strong emotions with a touch, but she was more than unprepared for the mix of tender adoration and longing that poured from Fox's heart.

He seemed to feel it too, and he turned to look at her over his shoulder.

She stared into his eyes for a brief moment.  _Look at you...fearless leader. I could fall for you in a heartbeat._

Fox blinked. Her lips had not moved, yet he could swear he had heard her voice. That thought couldn't have possibly been something she wanted to convey to him telepathically.

"The room is loading up as we speak. I decided to start you off on the Zoness base."

Fox snapped to attention, suddenly remembering the General's existence. "Zoness? Isn't that a little..."

"Nonsense. I'm sure you two can handle it. The suits are designed to protect you." He walked toward them with electronic wristbands. "Put these on your left arm. If you are shot in a critical area on the suit, or fall in the water, these will teleport you to a safe checkpoint. They also function as a radar device to determine where your opponent is on the battlefield." He pressed a button and two small backpacks slid out from another hidden chamber in the wall. "These are your weapons carriers. The explosions from mines and rockets are all real, but they are made from non-lethal materials, and these suits are designed to protect you. The lasers from blasters and other guns are all stun blasts and perfectly harmless while wearing the suits. You each have three lives. If you are shot in a critical area such as face, or heart, you will lose a life. If you fall into the water, you will lose a life."

As he spoke, the room beyond the glass slowly lit up. It was an enormous room; over a square mile of ground, and several stories of height. The ground dropped down a good distance, and filled itself with over ten feet of water. A complex metal military base rose out of the water, complete with rooms and paths and elevators. The ceiling formed heavy rain clouds that began to pour. Lights flickered on around the base. Krystal watched the process in awe.

"There will be no hand to hand combat this round. We'll save that for next round, or possibly the one after."

"Yeah, yeah. We know the rules, General. Can we just get on with it?" Fox asked.

Pepper nodded. "As you wish. I'm setting your separate coordinates now."

Fox looked at Krystal. He winked. "Good luck."

She grinned mischievously, readying her blaster. "Good luck yourself, Captain." The room disappeared in a flash, and she found herself standing in a small space with blue-lit walls. Rain poured outside the shelter she was under.

"Your battle begins on the fourth chime." The General's voice rang out through speakers hidden somewhere in the massive base.

3

2

1

Go!!

Krystal checked her blaster and charged a shot. She closed her eyes to sense for Fox's whereabouts. No way was she going to let him win.

She walked outside onto a wet metal path and into the next building. There was an elevator that led to the very top. She smiled. Fox was at the top.

Wind blew some rain down into the elevator. Krystal caught sight of a weapon, floating inside a light. It seemed to be waiting for someone to grab it. As the elevator rose to the appropriate space, Krystal reached out and snatched it. The light disappeared. The weapon was a canister. Krystal set it on the floor, and it locked onto the ground. A beep told her that it would go off any second.

She leaped off the elevator and ran out into the rain as the canister shot several exploding mines into the air.

A bullet hit the ground a few feet from her.

"Damn it. I hate sniper rifles..." Fox muttered, trying to adjust his sights from the moving platform he had caught a ride on. His adversary got to her feet and took cover behind a wall. He sighed and took a grenade out of his backpack. He pressed the charge button and chucked it as far into the air as he could, being now several yards away from her.

The grenade bounced off the wall and exploded in midair above her. Fox cursed.

Krystal crawled along the wall and made a break for the elevator, diving headlong into the shaft just as her suited beeped twice. The platform was already several feet beyond her original estimation. She hit the ground hard and rolled, bruising her shoulder, knees, and possibly injuring her left wrist.

Fox put away his homing rocket launcher, disappointed in himself for not firing immediately after lock-on. His moving platform carried him to the lower levels and he jumped off, charging a shot from his blaster as he came around to cut her off.

Krystal sensed him coming and waited on the elevator, charging her own gun. As he carelessly rounded a corner without checking, she aimed for his heart and fired. Fox swore as the suit teleported him to a checkpoint and took one life from his score.

Krystal grinned, riding the elevator back to the top. She snatched a pack of five mines on the way up, and set three of them on the elevator. Then she sat herself down comfortably under the shelter and waited.

Presently she heard an explosion, followed by a yell and several distant curses. She giggled and waited for Fox's presence to appear elsewhere.

The irritated vulpine had quite nearly lost his temper to his bruised ego. He had not expected Krystal to start winning right off. He was even planning on going easy on her towards the beginning. But now he only had one life left, and she had got the better of him twice. He snuck around the lower part of the base, picking up boosts and as many weapons as he could find. He had even been started off with the Demon Launcher, a cheat gun he had sworn never to even get, let alone use, that was only given to trainees who were about to lose poorly.

But now that he had it, he was going to use it. There was no way she was going to beat him the first time. No. Way.

He checked the radar on his wrist bracelet and frowned. Her blue arrow didn't show up. He looked around to ensure the coast was clear, and readied his newly acquired Gatling gun. He preferred it to the machine gun for its brute force and powerful shots. Machine guns held more ammo, but who needs 550 bullets when you have a Gatling gun?

With his gun ready and three immunity boosts on hand, Fox stepped onto the elevator and cautiously rode up. He decided to jump out with his gun blazing rather than to stand there like an idiot while he got himself beaten horribly. He balanced the heavy Gatling gun on his hip and waited. The minute he began to rise over the surface of the top level, he pulled the trigger and spun in a wide circle to get a read on his situation.

Krystal had been crouched in wait with her blaster, but the shock of the sudden massive Gatling gun firing stun rounds in every direction sent her scrambling backwards toward the edge of the roof. The heel of the suit's boot caught on the edge and she reeled backwards with a shriek.

"Ha!" Fox cried in triumph, firing several stun rounds into her chest. To his shock, Krystal promptly fell backwards off the roof.

The startled vixen barely had the chance to scream before her body came forcefully into contact with the metal pathway on the bottom level. The back of her skull smacked into the ground with enough force to make her see stars. She slowly got to her hands and knees, brain throbbing. "Ow..." She muttered, grabbing her head with one hand.

Her fingers came away bloody. "Why, that little..." she quickly stood up, immediately regretting the decision as the base rocked back and forth and blurred before her eyes. She stumbled forward, stepping off the edge of the path as black encircled her vision. The last thing she noticed before losing consciousness was the dead, cracked wristband on her arm, floating above her in the cold water.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damnit, Fox. You and your ego.
> 
> Fox: That's more Falco's area of expertise.
> 
> Me: You see what you've done to Krystal? She could be dying right now.
> 
> Fox: Nah, she'll be fine. ...right?
> 
> Me: ...
> 
> Fox: ...RIGHT?
> 
> Me: *dark laugh as the screen fades to black*


	10. It's a Trap!

"You said you were going to kill her." The girl spat.

"I know, love. I will." He replied.

"You're reluctant. You're acting like you want her to live."

"Believe me, I want nothing of the sort. If she lives, she's going to kill me."

"Then finish her."

"I'm working on it."

She sighed. "We need to go forward with this. I want that power plant destroyed, and I want her dead with it."

"How are we going to get her inside a building? Obviously if we just destroy it, it will get their attention. But we can't just waltz up to a team of trained mercs and start firing."

"I propose that we lay a trap. We post a public threat with some hasty evidence, and the military panics and calls their favorite heroes. After all, if they just take care of it quietly they risk public panic. Having Star Fox around will make things more calm. Once they get to the building, they'll start trying to investigate and find this bomb. That's when we strike. A short range missile to her exact location."

He shook his head. "Where are we supposed to get a missile?"

"Well assuming the kid has worked out the kinks in your teleport device, you could just hop into the military base and steal one."

He chuckled. "Just  _hop_ into _the military_ and _steal a missile._ No biggie."

She groaned in exasperation. "Fine, you don't have to. I'll get one. Just get me a layout of the power plant and her exact coordinates when the time comes. I trust you with the public threat. I'm sure the kid can set something up on his computer."

"Very well. If this works, she'll be dead by nightfall."

( **Meanwhile** )

Fox scrambled to the edge of the roof level and peered down. Krystal had landed on the metal pathway. He winced as she climbed slowly to her feet.  _Why isn't her suit working? She should have been taken to a checkpoint by now!_ To his horror, she stumbled sideways and fell right off the path, into the cold water. There was no flash to teleport her to a new starting point.

 _Maybe they took that out and it doesn't flash anymore..._  He thought.

He checked his radar. No Krystal.  _I'm not taking that risk._

He threw down his guns, ripped off his bracelet and dove off the roof. Even if she had teleported to safety, he needed to double check. He swore as he realized he had not jumped far enough and jerked his body sideways. The whole idea of jumping seemed stupid now, as the water was not even deep enough for a dive from a three foot diving board.

The path came toward him fast, and he reached out with his right arm to catch the edge and break his fall into the water. As his shoulder gave an agonizing pop, he regretted that idea and fell into the water. Moving his right arm at all was nearly impossible.

He opened his eyes under the water and saw Krystal floating unconscious just below the surface. He clenched his jaw against the pain in his shoulder and swam toward her, scooping her up in his left arm and kicking above the surface. The pathway was about three feet above them. He took a deep breath and balanced Krystal on top of his chest, trying to keep her nose out of the water as he propelled himself toward the nearest supporting pole.

Now, to pull not only himself, but Krystal's unconscious body clear out of the water with only one working arm. Time was a key factor in this problem. If he waited too long, she could drown. He swam up alongside the path and attempted to reach it with his right arm. The pain of even lifting it was enough to deter him from that idea. Even if he could reach the edge, he would not be able to haul himself or Krystal onto the path with his injured arm.

He gingerly wrapped his aching limb around Krystal's waist and leaned her head between his neck and shoulder for support. Then he reached up with his left arm and grabbed the ledge. He was not strong enough to haul both of them onto the path with one arm.

"Fox!" General Pepper's voice echoed in the room above the noise of rain hitting the water. "Both of your comms have gone offline. Is everything alright? I can't find you on the map!"

"Help!" Fox cried. He dropped back into the water, focusing on keeping Krystal above it.

The water level began to decrease, and the base above him started to turn to pixels and disappear.

"I can't find you, still, Fox! I tried to force your suits to return here, but only your bracelet actually showed up. I'm resetting the base, now."

The water sank until Fox's feet reached solid ground. He carefully lowered Krystal's body with his good arm, keeping her along the water level so as not to drop her. He knelt beside her as the water finally disappeared and checked her pulse. It was weak. She was wet, cold, unconscious, and not breathing. But she was still alive.

Fox got on his knees beside her and felt for the center of her rib cage. He used his good arm to perform chest compressions, pumping the heel of his hand into the center of her chest in attempt to revive her. He lost count somewhere but stopped at where he thought should be thirty. Then he scooted upwards and took her muzzle in his hands, holding her nose shut with his fingers as he placed his mouth over hers and forced a quick breath of air into her lungs.

Water trickled out of her mouth as he returned to chest compressions. "Come on... come  _on._  Don't you  _dare_  die on me!" He cried angrily, moving back up for mouth to mouth. He held her nose shut and again placed his mouth over hers.

The first three seconds of consciousness, Krystal noticed three things. The first was that she was cold, wet, and lying on a flat, hard surface. The second being that someone's mouth was pressed tenderly against hers.

The third was that she could not breathe.

Her eyes opened wide and she forced the air from her lungs, breaking contact with the person above her. She rolled over and wretched a lungful of water onto the floor. Her brain throbbed with each cough that brought oxygen to her lungs. In a few painful seconds, she was able to breathe without coughing. She was breathing heavily on her hands and knees, staring at the ground, when she remembered what had happened. She turned to Fox with a slight glare.

"You're alright..." He breathed, overcome with relief.

"You almost killed me." She said angrily.

"I...I'm sorry." He crawled over to her and wrapped his good arm around her. "I'm so sorry..."

Her anger softened with the strong emotions that emanated from his close presence. She sighed softly and attempted to return his embrace. He grunted lightly in pain, and she pulled back. "Are you alright?"

"It's nothing. Just... shoulder... dislocated... I'm fine." He said quickly.

"Let me see it."

He winced as her dainty hands tenderly caressed his injured shoulder.

"This is gonna hurt." She said, gently moving his arm around and supporting it by his elbow. He nodded and looked away. Her hands took his dislocated arm and shoved it into the shoulder socket with a  _pop_.

Fox grimaced and groaned in agony. For a second, he saw spots and thought he might faint from the pain. Krystal's fingers reached up around his face and suddenly her lips met his in a tender kiss. He was suddenly reminded of her voice in his head.  _I could fall for you in a heartbeat..._

"Feel better?" She asked.

He grinned at her. "Yeah...thanks."

She smiled. "And thank  _you_... you saved my life."

He looked down. "I almost killed you..."

"But I am still alive, and that's what counts, you know?" She smiled again, looking him in the eye.

Fox stared at her for a few seconds, and then he leaned in and pushed his lips slowly to hers.

"Fox! Quit messing around and get back here!" The General's irritated voice came through the intercom.

Krystal leaned in and squeezed his lower lip firmly between her teeth. He moaned. She released and stood up, leaving him shocked on the floor. He stared at the wall in the distance. She offered her hand to help him up. "Well, come on then."

He remained on the floor for a few more seconds, nonchalantly pulling his knees up a bit and leaning forward, blocking her view of the general vicinity of his hips. "Wow."

Krystal was suddenly afraid that she'd hurt him, or he hadn't liked it, but his thought patterns reassured her that he had in fact liked it a  _lot,_ possibly even too much. She grinned sheepishly. "Need a minute?"

"I, uh..." He blushed, avoiding eye contact. "Sorry... I'm not really used to this kind of affection." He hesitated a few more seconds, and then climbed slowly to his feet and turned towards the exit. She began walking a bit ahead of him, and his eyes wandered along the well-fitting suit.  _Oh my stars is she blessed with genetics. I could watch that tail walk for hours._  He mentally kicked himself for the direction his mind was heading and decided to catch up with her to avoid further temptation.

She had sensed his lust for her, but it felt somewhat flattering coming from him.  _And my is it amusing watching him stutter and struggle with his desires for me._

"We should hurry," Fox said. He jogged lightly towards the door.

Krystal jogged a few steps, but her head began to throb from the vibrations. She slowed to a brisk walk, and could not help but crack a grin at her view of Fox's tail end. The intrusive thought patterns from the General brought her attention away from Fox. She frowned, tuning her abilities in his direction in order to listen to his conversation.

"I saw it with my own eyes, sir. They hacked into the main broadcasting service and posted the warning all over the city. The people are in panic. We need Star Fox. The police don't stand a chance."

"Well, I am with their leader now."

"Bring him to your office. I will send you the transmission to show him. This is serious, General."

"I understand. We will be there shortly." Pepper cut off the comm just as the two vulpines entered the room. "I received a call from a trusted source saying that there was a citywide threat from some unknown enemy who is planning to blow up the power plants."

Fox's eyes widened. "What?"

"I apologize; I know this is very sudden but it sounds like they need you. The people look up to you, Fox. We haven't got much time-..."

"Say no more. We'll do it." Fox interrupted. "We'll get changed and meet you in your office." He reached behind him and tugged on the suit as the General left the room. The zipper automatically undid itself. Fox slid the suit onto the floor in a heap and grabbed his clothes.

Krystal was momentarily stunned by the sight of his body. She blushed hard and quickly undressed, unable to tear her eyes away from him. Fox caught sight of her undressing from the corner of his eye and concentrated hard on looking straight ahead as he zipped his pants and put on his shirt. His vest was on next, and then he stepped through the doorway.

"Ready?" He inquired, grabbing his weapons from the bin outside the door and quickly strapping them back on.

"Yes." She replied, walking up next to him. She stared at him for a moment with an amused look as he handed her the small knife.

"What?"

"Your shirt," she began, staring him dead in the eyes, "it's backwards."

"Huh?" He looked down.

"...and inside out."

"I, uh... I'll fix it on the way. Let's go." He said, his face turning red. He had been so focused on trying not to stare at her that he had not paid any attention to his own clothes.

They walked quickly down the hallway while Fox struggled with his shirt. He pulled it back on over his head, grabbed Krystal's hand, and they ran to catch up with the General.

Krystal led them back through the maze to the elevator. Having spent the time to filter a conversation from the General's mind, she picked up a few other things as well, quite by accident. The elevator lifted toward the ground level and disassembled itself backwards to how it had assembled on the way down. As the platform stopped, the two foxes ran out of the warehouse toward the tall office building.

The vision struck then, mid stride. Time slowed around the vixen, as if her life were a movie and someone had switched the playback settings. She pushed off the ground with one foot, propelling her body forward and reaching out with the opposite leg. The world vanished in a flash of white, and all she saw was darkness.

Darkness, and a pair of terrifying red eyes staring her flat in the face. There were little flecks of green and yellow, as if the red was not their natural color. The pupils were large and black as night. They looked as if at any moment they would enlarge and suck the world into a fiery hell.

Hot, foul breath hit her face as the owner of the eyes chuckled darkly. She cringed inwardly, trying not to vomit at the horrid smell. The owner smiled with sharp, yellow teeth. She could not make out the details of his face in the darkness. A hood covered his head.

" _I'm coming for you, love. No use trying to escape. Your destiny awaits. Better hurry... the bomb's ticking._ " His voice was disguised and distorted by some means, but it was almost familiar.

The world reappeared and time resumed. She was still running with Fox, but the vision had shaken her badly. She tripped on the pavement and sprawled onto the ground, skinning the palm of her hand. Her other hand was still gripping Fox's.

He was jerked to a stop and nearly fell. "Are you alright?" He asked, still worried that she was injured from the training grounds.

"Yes!" She said quickly, using his arm as leverage to pull herself up and attempting to ignore the throbbing pain in her head. They continued to the building, but the horrid image of red eyes was still firmly imprinted in her mind. They reached the elevator and Fox pressed the floor for the General's office. Krystal stared at the floor as the elevator rose. A nauseous feeling came over her. She placed her hand on her stomach. The foul stench of the red eyed being's breath still lingered in her nostrils.

"You okay?" Fox asked, noticing the look on her face. She nodded.

"I'm fine..." She hesitated, then shook her head. "It's nothing."

He knew just by looking at her that it was  _not_  nothing, but he decided to keep quiet for the time being. The doors slid opened and they hurried into the General's office.

His face was white and his eyes wide, as if he had just seen a ghost. "How could they get past all of our security? It's not... possible..."

"They could be bluffing." Fox suggested.

"I can't afford to take that risk. If they aren't..."

"That's why I'm here."

"I'll get you a private escort to the site. The threat said we had an hour. We've got less than fifty minutes now."

"Then let's get mov-"

"Excuse me...?" Krystal asked. The two men looked over at her. She pointed to the solid empty silver wastebasket in front of her. "Is this for trash?"

"Yes, it is." The General replied.

"Thank you..." She doubled over the top and hurled.

Fox winced. "Are you sure you're okay?"

She stood up slowly and wiped her mouth. "I'll be fine. We haven't got a lot of time."

" _Time's wasting. Better hurry._ " She involuntarily shuddered as the voice entered her head.

"Let's go." She said.

In a few minutes, the General had them at the power plants. Fox had paged Peppy during the ride over and filled him in on the situation, requesting arwings and their missing team members.

Fox and Krystal ran out of the car and toward the industrial building that served as the main port for the city's energy. From this singular building came the power to every building above ground and every hovercraft. These buildings included stores, houses, government offices, and the climate control center.

"Something's here, I can feel it." Krystal said. "There's something... someone... I don't know. But it's here."

"We'd better hurry. The bomb squad should be arriving soon. We're here to make sure the area is secure before they go inside." Fox said. "They don't necessarily need our help, but Corneria trusts us. We're the face of hope and safety when there's chaos."

"I could probably find the bomb. The residual energy from a person's thought patterns is usually traceable in a place they were recently."

"Which means?"

"If someone was inside the building with bad intentions, I should be able to sense where they were in the building."

"That's genius." Fox said as they reached the door. It was closed and locked. He lifted his communicator. "General, this door's closed and locked. Are you sure it was this one?"

"Yes. The security protocols have all been disabled. They must have locked it behind them. Go ahead and just blast the lock. We can worry about replacing it later."

He blasted the lock and turned to Krystal. "Sense anything?"

She shook her head. "It's just the same feeling, like something bad is here."

" _You're getting close. So close... and yet so far._ " She winced and followed Fox inside.

"I keep sensing this voice. I think it's him, the one who put the bomb here. I keep seeing him inside my head." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "He's so evil. It's horrid."

Fox moved in front of her and put his hands on her shoulders. "Hey, it's alright. Did he say anything?"

"He said we're close. He said we should hurry."

"Hello?" Fox called.

"If anyone was still in here, alerting them would make them run and hide."

"Good. Being scared makes them careless. Maybe they'll leave the bomb somewhere obvious." He replied. "I'm armed and so help me if I see any trouble I'll shoot the first thing that moves!" He shouted. No reply.

They walked around the deserted entry room once, and then headed for the stairs.

"No one's in here but us..." Krystal said quietly. "The others are flying in by arwing as we speak."

"Alright. You look around, I'll be back with them in a moment. Holler if you run into trouble."

She grinned. "Yes, sir."

He walked outside and the door shut behind him. Krystal slowly climbed the stairs, senses on alert. She closed her eyes for a second to focus. The building was abandoned... Electronics ran the whole thing. The only living beings to enter in the last several hours had been a maintenance team to make sure it was running smoothly.

Something was definitely wrong.

She started up the next staircase. There was always a chance that the energy was too faint for her to sense from afar, or that they had used some sort of robot in order to skirt her abilities.

( **Meanwhile...** )

"She's inside."

"Good. I'm going to blow it up, now."

"The whole building?"

"Yes."

"But, what about the city? The cars won't work, the electricity won't work..."

"That's someone else's problem. We have a generator, food rations, and blankets."

He sighed. "You think I should scare her a bit with a warning?"

She grinned mischievously. "Make it...an elusive warning. Something she won't understand until it's too late."

( **Corneria Hover-Radio Power Building** )

"Get out! Please, hear me! Please! I... I can't... I can't let you know who I am. You have to hear me. You have to! Please!" He screamed desperately, standing only a few feet from the unaware vixen. He knew that she would not be able to see or hear him, but he had to try anyway.

She turned around the room, looking at the walls and computers.

" _Time's almost up. Say goodbye._ " She gasped.

"Get out! Get out now!" The man screamed. Tears filled his eyes. "He'll kill you! Krystal, please! Please, leave!"

 _Please...you have to leave!_  The voice was so quiet, but so filled with emotion. She turned around. Her telepathy was screaming at her, trying to warn her... She had to get out. Her legs would not move fast enough to get down the stairs.

Her foot skipped one too many stairs and her heel caught the next one, too far down for her to keep her balance. The vixen tumbled down six stairs and landed roughly on the next landing. She winced and tried to get up, but was met with a painful sting from her left ankle. Her head was spinning from the pain of her previous injury. "I shouldn't have come this far in..." She grabbed the railing and hauled her body up, hopping down one step at a time.

One stair at a time and agonizingly slow, she hobbled downwards. "Fox!" She screamed. "Fox, we have to get out of here!"

The sound of a ship flying overhead reached her ears... only there were no people on the ship. Her eyes widened as she realized it was a missile. Without a second thought, she dove down the stairs and rolled to the bottom of one flight, covering her face with her arms. Bruised arms and legs and maybe even a few broken bones were better than singed remains. She crawled to the next flight and rolled forward.  _Just a few more..._  She could barely move at this point, the pain in her head kept her from even seeing straight.

Outside, Fox had just caught sight of the missile.

"Fox!" General Pepper hollered, running towards the mercenary. "Fox, a missile was fired from my own base! The target is that building! We can't override it!"

"The bomb was a diversion." Fox realized aloud. "There was no bomb. It was only to draw our attention so..." He trailed off and ran toward the building. "Krystal! You have to get out, now!"

A huge crash hit the top of the building. She could hear the explosion roaring towards her level and she screamed.

" _KRY-YSTAAL!_ "


	11. Climate Control

Fox ran desperately toward the building as the missile soared. "Krystal, you have to get out, now!" He cried at the top of his lungs. His legs couldn't move fast enough. The missile was almost there.

It hit the roof with a huge crash. Fire shot out of the building with an aftershock that sent Fox flying to the ground. The last thing he heard was her scream.

The whole building went up in flames before his eyes.

" _KRYSTAL!"_  He yelled. Tears came to his eyes and a chill washed over him as he stared at the remains of the burning building. Chunks tore off the side and clattered to the ground. Something inside collapsed with a loud crash. Sirens wailed in the distance, and clouds formed as if out of nowhere in the sky. "Please...no...please..." He begged. Katt ran up beside him, having landed in her ship just seconds before.

"Where is she?" She demanded.

He stared in despair at the collapsing building, unable to form words.

Katt looked up at the flames in horror. "Krys...?"

( **Meanwhile...** )

Krystal tumbled down another flight of stairs and lay at the landing in pain. She couldn't will her body to keep going. She rolled onto her back and stared at the stairs above her with teary eyes.  _I'm sorry, I let you down, Fox._

_I have to do it. I can't let her die... I can't._  He closed his eyes and focused as the missile got close.  _The least I can do is disguise myself._  He opened his eyes. The surroundings had changed.

"What are you doing here?" A man sat in an uncomfortable looking chair, hunched over a pile of electronics. His ankle was chained to the desk in front of him. "Did they finally fix you?"

"Krystal's in danger. I don't have time to explain. Where's that device you were working on to hide my brother from telepaths?"

"I've got the prototype here, it's not quite ready, but-..."

"That'll do. And I need something to cover my face."

"Take this, it's his spare cloak. The hood has some face obscuring tech so that she won't be able to see your face from even a foot away. But, why are you hiding from her?"

"I can't let her know it's me." He cringed as he put on the cloak. "What about the voice distorter?"

The man pointed to a small device among the mess. "You'll save her, right?"

"I have to go. I can't hold this very long..." He had less than forty seconds now.

He stuck the voice distorter on his throat and coughed. The vibrations made his voice significantly different. Then he clipped the little chip to hide his presence on his shirt beneath the cloak. The now-cloaked figure closed his eyes and focused on a temporal shift. He was back in the building with Krystal, a few feet behind her. She was on the floor staring at the fire that was caught in his time field. She turned to him and screamed in terror.

"It's alright! I won't hurt you!" He said quickly.

"No, get away from me! You monster!"

"I didn't send the missile! My brother did. You need to trust me. I only have about twenty seconds to get you out of here." He knelt and attempted to pull her into his arms, but she lashed out. "Don't fight me or you'll die!" He snapped. She tensed up as he lifted her, but stopped trying to hit him. "I have limited time. I'll explain later when I've recovered. You need to get out of here before I run out of time."

She stared at him, terrified. His eyes were soft and blue. His breath wasn't awful, and his teeth were white. He was definitely not the same person she'd seen in her vision.

He slammed through the emergency exit in the back and quickly set her down several feet from the building. His energy was nearly depleted. "Use your power. You can create a force-field to protect yourself and you need to do it  _now_!" He doubled over, clutching his stomach and struggling to hold his form. "Hurry!"

She looked at him incredulously. "What?"

"Just...concentrate... channel your energy... into your hands and outward." He felt something wet and moved his hand away from his middle. "Blood...that's new..." He focused with his palm outward and a dark blue wall of energy appeared in front of him. He dropped to his knees in pain. "You can do it...I can't hold on..." His voice was weak and blood began to trickle from his mouth.

Krystal stretched out her hands like he had and focused. The second the blue field appeared around them, he collapsed in relief and time resumed. The explosion rang out loudly and fire lapped at the protective energy shield. Krystal's eyes widened, staring in awe at the tangible energy flowing from her hands.

"How did you-...?" She trailed off. The man who had saved her life had disappeared without a trace. She attempted to stand and remembered her hurt ankle, falling forward onto her hands and knees. She stood cautiously, putting all her weight onto her right foot and beginning the slow hobble to the other side of the building.

Fox knelt helplessly on the ground, watching the structure burn. He had sent her inside. He had sent her to her doom.

Katt sat next to him, placing her hand on his shoulder. "It's not your fault. You didn't know."

He said nothing, mulling over the details in his mind and trying to find a possibility for hope, for her survival.  _No... it can't end like this. It can't. She can't be dead..._ The sound of her scream just before the explosion played on repeat in his mind. He pulled his legs to his chest and buried his face in his knees.

Katt stared at the subtle movement near the left of the building, somewhat distorted from the heat of the flames and the sudden dark sky. "Is...is that...?" She began, pointing to the edge of the flames.

Fox looked up and momentarily forgot how to breathe. A distant figure limped slowly around the side of the building. He stared intently as he slowly to his feet. The bright fire made everything near it seem blurry, and he could not quite make out details.  _Is it... can it be?_

Then he saw her tail. Her soft, beautiful tail, with the two telltale silver rings matting down her fluffy blue fur.

"Krystal!" His voice broke, tears of relief forming in his eyes. He blinked them away as he bolted towards her. He did not know how, but she was alive.

He threw his arms around her waist and swept her off the ground, squeezing her tightly against his chest. "Oh my god, you're alive. You're...you're okay..." He said, pressing his lips against her cheek. "I thought...I thought you..."

"I sprained my ankle, but I'm alright." She said. His emotions were so strong that she was nearly in tears herself just from exposure.

"You're okay..." He said again. He set her down and stared at her face. He looked down at her lips, longing to kiss them.

"Excuse me, folks! Please stand away from the fire. We'll handle everything." One of them shouted towards Fox and Krystal.

"Fox, I can barely walk... my ankle..."

He knelt and tucked one arm behind her knees, placing the other on the small of her back, and lifted her off the ground effortlessly. She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned her head on his shoulder.  _This won't happen again. I can't put her in this kind of danger and risk losing her. If she was killed, I could never forgive myself... I would never be able to cope. I think I'm in love with her._  He glanced down at her as they walked.

Katt ran up and threw her arms around Krystal's neck. "Thank heaven you're alright!" She cried. "Fox said you were in the building. We thought... How did you make it out?"

Thoughts of her mysterious rescuer came to her mind. "I... I don't really know. One minute I was inside, running, and then I was outside. I fell part way down and twisted my ankle." Details of a time-stopping hero who could make magical energy shields could afford to be left out for the time being.

"I'm so glad you're okay!" Katt said.

"As am I. It's quite a relief."

General Pepper walked up to the team with a pale face and a worried expression. "Star Fox, I regret to say we have a difficult problem on our hands. The power for the entire city is down. that missile should never have destroyed this building, but the shields were disabled shortly after the threat in order to let your team in to investigate. Without power, the citizens are going to riot, and the Climate Control center is down as well. That's not all; someone fired that missile from my command center. It requires my physical presence even to set foot in that room, and a key from my office to launch a projectile. Whoever this was knew what they were doing. I am the first suspect, seeing as how I am the only person who can allow access to this room. Despite all the witnesses here today, they're going to think I did it. I want to hire you to find the person responsible for this and bring them to justice."

As if on cue, two police officers walked up behind him. "General Pepper, you're under arrest under suspicion of terrorism."

"What!" Fox exclaimed. "He's innocent! My team and I haven't left his side at all today. He had nothing to do with this!"

"All due respect, Star Fox, but he is the top suspect and the only one capable of launching that missile." The cop handcuffed the General and began to lead him away.

"Wait!" Krystal touched the cop's arm gently. "This man is a good man. He is innocent."

He gave her a confused look, and stood dazed for a few seconds. "I'm... sorry."

The other cop stepped up and grabbed the General's other arm. "Knock it off, Ben. It's time to go."

Krystal touched his hand. "You've got it all wrong. The man you're looking for is not the General. It's someone else." She projected the image of the cloaked figure and the cat from the Space Station into their minds.

He frowned at her for a moment. "You're right. Our suspects are the man who made the threat and this woman with him." He uncuffed Pepper and the two cops left together.

The old dog turned to Krystal with a shocked expression. "Would you care to explain to me what just happened?"

"I'm telepathic. I showed them that they were wrong about you. You're a good man, General. I also showed them what the real culprits look like."

His face went pale again, and he turned to Fox. "You brought a telepath into the largest top-secret military base in the galaxy?"

Fox opened his mouth to object, but realized he had no defenses or excuses.

"I don't expect you to trust me right away, General. But you have my word that I will not alter your opinion of me the way I did to those cops. Trust is something to be earned, and I swear to you I shall earn it."

He gave a defeated sigh. "I suppose I do owe you for what you did back there."

"I knew you were innocent. The guilty have different thought patterns. I could not stand to see an innocent man punished for a crime he didn't commit."

Pepper cleared his throat. "I appreciate your integrity." He glanced up at the dark grey clouds that were forming. "Without the Climate Control center, things are going to be bad tonight. My advice to you is to take refuge on the Great Fox and hope the storm blows over soon. The experts from Dome are already planning to work overtime until we have power again. The only saving grace is that Dome and the mountain cities haven't been affected from this."

Fox nodded. "Corneria has grown since the Lylat Wars. We're stronger now. We'll make it through this."

( **Meanwhile** )

"What the hell happened? They said no casualties on the news." The girl snapped.

"I don't know. The scan said she was inside the building when the missile hit. She was outside by the time it exploded. There's no rational explanation."

"Well you better come up with something. That's twice we've failed."

He sighed. "Katt's friend is having a party in a week or so. I'm not sure of the date. If Katt goes, Krystal will most likely be there."

"Bomb the building the minute she's inside."

"Calm yourself. We don't want that many unnecessary deaths. I'm going to show up as myself. When she sees me, she'll forget all about Fox. I can win over her trust and strike when she least expects it."

The girl rolled her eyes. "I want it done quickly. The longer she's alive, the more opportunities she'll have to ruin my life some more. Don't get careless, just kill her."

"It's a foolproof plan. No one will suspect it. After I've killed her, I'll announce to the team that we're moving to our home planet to be married. If anyone suspects anything, I'll tell them she felt too guilty about leaving and didn't want to face anyone in person."

She sighed and rubbed her temples with her fingers. "Fine. But at the first sign of trouble you're bailing out. And by bailing, I mean hit and run."

"Don't worry... I'll get it done."

( **Corneria Docking Bay; 7:30pm** )

"Are you sure you don't want to see a doctor?" Fox asked.

"I'm fine. If it was serious I wouldn't be able to walk on it." Krystal insisted. The idea of visiting a hospital made her nauseous. So many thought patterns at once calling out in distress... Her ankle was not in enough pain to warrant that torture.

She limped up the ramp toward the Great Fox, clearly struggling but refusing help. If she could prove that she could walk up on her own, perhaps they would stop asking if she needed a hospital.

"I can carry you." Fox offered for the fifth time.

"It's alright." Krystal said, blushing at the thought of being held in his arms again. Her mind wandered in his that direction for a few seconds, and she lost her balance. She grabbed for something to break her fall.

Fox lunged for her, catching her arm in his hand and pulling her into his chest. "Krystal... just let me carry you."

She blushed again. "...Okay."

He stepped forward and knelt by her, lifting her off the ground as if it was effortless and carrying her up into the ship.

Out in the city, three riots had already broken out from the mass of people demanding that food stores be opened. Of course, without power, there was no way to work the credits machine. Without that, there was no way to pay for the food. Instead, desperate individuals rallied up others and busted out the doors and windows of several grocery stores.

The hotel the Star Fox team had been staying at was shut down. The backup generator did not send power to the elevators, and no one wanted to take the stairs up seventy floors. Especially Krystal.

Experts had predicted that the maintenance workers would have a new generator built in less than two days, but the people of upper Corneria City were still in panic. Most stayed indoors with all entrances and exits blocked off; others took to looting, and many citizens went in after the looters to stock up on food and supplies. The police could not contain the panic, being limited to the small reserve of wheeled squad cars. They gave up after a few hours and withdrew to protect their own houses and families from the angry looters.

Fox gingerly set Krystal down on his bed.

"Thank you..." She said.

"It's not a problem." Fox replied. "Sorry you don't have your own room yet..." The construction had already begun on the Great Fox, and the main generator had been shut down for the safety of the construction workers. Without power to the Docking Bay, the workers were unable to continue and had gone home. Fox stepped out in the hallway. "Slippy, do the airlocks still work? We'd better get the ship closed up for the night. With the power out, the climate control center won't be able to hold the evening temperatures up."

Slippy groaned. "I'll go do it manually..."

"I'll get the back door." Fox said. He turned to Krystal in the dim room as the outside light faded slowly. "You okay?"

"I'll be fine. Go ahead." She replied.

He left.

Krystal laid back on the top blanket and closed her eyes in deep thought. She was utterly exhausted from the long day she had just endured... First combat training, then the missile. Her head still ached from her fall in the training room. And then there was the explosion itself.

" _I didn't send the missile! My brother did. You need to trust me._ " His voice sounded distorted and strange, but it was still familiar somehow. She held her hand out above her and concentrated. Nothing happened.  _Was it some hallucination? I could swear I did it._ She focused harder.

" _Just...concentrate... channel your energy... into your hands and outward._ "

_Channel it..._  She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, fixating on her goal.  _Come on... make a shield..._  She opened her eyes and grinned widely. Above her in a wide area of the room was a flickering blue blanket of energy. She relaxed her mind and it vanished.  _I can't wait to show Fox_.

Perhaps it was the amount of time she had spent communicating with him telepathically, or perhaps it was his personality, or maybe even that he had saved her life multiple times. She had barely known him a week, and yet she felt as if she had known him for years. His presence was the most calming thing since...

She frowned as his face entered her mind; the face that had haunted her over the two years since her departure.

So many memories long past of the boy she almost married. He was dead now, of course. She had thought him dead when her village was destroyed, but he survived to see her again on Sauria. There, she watched a SharpClaw with an axe slice his stomach open and fling him off a cliff. She'd killed the SharpClaw immediately, and even managed to catch his hand. But she wasn't strong enough to pull him back over, and he was already bleeding out. He had made her let go of his hand, perhaps the hardest thing she'd ever had to do in her life.

This was of course after Scales had torn CloudRunner Fortress from the planet, and so at the end of the day she couldn't even bury his body. Presumably he bled out as he floated out into space, and she could only hope that the blood loss had made him unconscious before he left the atmosphere.

Fox's soothing presence brought comfort to her heart as his soft footsteps reached her ears from around the corner.

"The temperature's gonna get low tonight. Corneria tends to freeze over without the Climate Control center." Fox said. A thick fuzzy blanket was smuggled under his arm. He unfolded it and laid it out on the couch.

"If Corneria is so cold, why would the Lylatians choose it as their core planet?"

Fox smiled at her curiosity. "As far as I learned in history class, Corneria had pretty nice weather. The settlers who first came to Corneria settled in the mountains. They had seen other planets be destroyed from pollution and waste, so they made a point to be ethical and not pollute the environment here. Even when the population spiked and cities were built, they were built to ensure that the eco system would survive. I guess it wasn't quite enough for some people, and eventually Climate Control technology was invented. Our scientists figured out a way to give us perfect weather year round and actually boost the ecosystem for the better. Rain and snow only happen on scheduled days, and there's a formula in place to keep everything as green and lively as possible. The downside of this is that when the Climate Control tech is shut off after extended use, it tends to cause extreme temperatures. Anyway, more people migrated here and the population went up, and that's when Corneria City was expanded to this island and Dome underneath the sea. On the other side of Dome you'll find Old Corneria City and the mountain towns as well."

"That's fascinating. I'd love to see the old city some time."

"I'll take you someday." He smiled at the thought of sightseeing with her. "Oh, yeah. Your clothes are all at the hotel still. Would you like a t-shirt to sleep in?" He asked.

"Yes, if it's not any trouble."

"No trouble at all." He grabbed a black shirt out of his dresser and tossed it to Krystal.

She promptly stood up and took off her shirt.

Fox's jaw dropped. He snapped it back shut and whipped his head around to face the opposite way.

Krystal laughed as she slid his t-shirt on over her bra. "How long are you going to be shocked by skin that you've already laid eyes on, Fox?"

His face burned in embarrassment. "Well, I... just... didn't want to-..."

"It's alright, Fox. I suppose I do appreciate you not staring." She said, folding up her pants and setting them in a neat pile on the floor. The sun had all but disappeared now, leaving Corneria City darker than it had been in centuries.

Even in the dim light, Fox could still see her shapely legs poking out from the end of the t-shirt. She walked slowly around the end of the bed and crawled beneath the blankets, wincing at the pain in her ankle. The cold was only beginning to set in.

Outside, a furious blizzard raged through the streets of the powerless city. The homeless were driven to any abandoned building available, and people indoors without power huddled beneath blankets. The spoiled civilians of Corneria had never known a cold day without power or fair warning. Their electric stoves and heating systems were useless.

It was going to be a cold, miserable night for the pampered capitol planet of Corneria.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I thought I'd add some cannon lore in this chapter. According to Star Fox wiki, Corneria has lots and lots of green and trees because of the eco-aware population. Fun fact: 85% of Lylat's population lives in Corneria City alone. That's a LOT of people. I happened to notice the huge difference between SF64 Corneria City and SFAssault Corneria City. So I figured, they must be built in two different places. SFAssault Corneria is an island while SF64 Corneria is a vast, green, mountainy, beautiful place. So, I dubbed SF64 "Old Corneria" and ran with the island idea.
> 
> The island also seemed super small compared to the supposed 85% of an entire galaxy's population. So I invented the Corneria Dome underwater city. Presumably the Cornerians want to keep their planet green and lovely. So, why not build a massive city at the bottom of the ocean? They have the technology. Anyways, I'll quit blabbing now. I hope you all enjoyed this tidbit and the added paragraphs.


	12. Crowd Control

Krystal shivered severely beneath the blankets. She had managed one or two short hours of sleep before the cold became intense enough to wake her. If there had been light, she would have seen thick fog emanate from her nostrils with every breath. An involuntary whimper escaped her throat. It was so cold she wanted to cry, but she resisted the urge for fear of making icicle tears on her cheeks.

Fox's thought patterns reached out to her from across the room. He was suffering just as much, if not  _more_  than she was.

"F-Fox?"

"You okay?" He asked.

She realized that her pitiful whisper had sounded, well, pitiful. "I'm...s-so cold..." She said, struggling to keep her voice steady.

"Me too..." Fox replied. She could hear the shiver in his voice.

"Come over here." She said. "Bring your blanket."

"What?"

"Don't question, or I might change my mind."

Fox summoned the strength to leave the little warmth he had generated against the couch and stood up, blanket around his shoulders. It was then he realized that he could not feel his fingers or toes. He shuffled quickly to the bed and spread his blanket over the top of the comforter. Krystal sat up and lifted the blankets, and he gingerly crawled next to her. She pulled the blankets back over them both and snuggled into the warmth of Fox's chest.

He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight for several minutes. His head poked out of the sheets, making his ears terribly cold. He reached up and pulled the blanket over his head.

Krystal shivered against him for several minutes. As she thought about their situation, the proceedings of the last few days came to mind. Specifically, the times that she and Fox had kissed, and the ways he reacted. An idea presented itself to her. "Fox?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm going to kiss you."

His heart rate spiked. "O-...okay."

She hesitated a moment, and then slowly slid her hand up along his chest. His body began to heat up. Her fingers traced along the side of his neck. His breath quickened. She shuffled a bit, positioning herself so that her face was level with his. The suspense was driving him mad, and the result was that his body was heating up. She placed her hand over his and moved it over her hip. Her own heart began to race as she led his hand below her shirt, along her waist and towards her chest.

Gently, she kissed him. His breath was hot on her cheek. She bit down on his lip, drawing a soft moan, and then rolled onto her back, guiding him on top of her. He kissed her lustfully and slid his hand down along her waist, to her hip, and along the side of her thigh, pulling her leg up around his hip. She slid her hands beneath his shirt and up along his back to his shoulders, and then dug her nails into his skin and pulled them downwards. He broke the kiss with a gasp and shuddered from the sensation. She leaned up and kissed along his neck while her hands found their way along his waist, thoroughly enjoying the feel of his muscular abdomen, and then kissed him again. Her palms worked down his hips and to his thighs. With one hand she began to venture between them.

His hand snapped down and grabbed her wrist firmly.

She leaned back immediately, sensing his discomfort. "I'm sorry."

"No, it's alright. I'm enjoying this. It's just..." He rolled onto his back, sighing. "I think I'm enjoying it a bit too much. I don't want to take advantage of you."

She grinned. "You're sweet, Fox. But I think I was the one taking advantage of  _you_."

"What?"

"We were both freezing, and I couldn't help but think about earlier, when you kissed me at the training grounds. Your face got hot, and..." she giggled, "I think we both know that other parts of your body got hot as well."

He blushed.

"I realized that if I could stimulate that feeling in us again, it would make us warm." She sighed happily. "And I'll not hide it, I was quite enjoying it."

Fox pulled the blankets down to his chest. "Well, I guess it worked. I'm feeling pretty warm."

Krystal grinned and scooted up to him, sliding below his arm and resting her head on his chest. "I hope you're not mad at me."

He chuckled. "I don't think it's possible to be mad at you."

She nuzzled him tenderly and closed her eyes. "Goodnight, Fox."

( **Meanwhile...** )

"Damnit!" The woman screamed at the generator. She stood outside next to the old fashioned electricity generating engine that was now covered with frost and no longer generating heat or lights inside the building. She gave it a good hard kick before limping inside in agony, regretting her last decision. A foul stream of curses flowed from her lips.

"Sounds like it's not working." A male voice said from the chair across the room.

"It's frozen through. Cold resistant my ass." She spat.

He sighed. "Well... there's always the old fashioned way." He winked.

She rolled her eyes and walked into her bedroom. "I'm not in the mood."

He followed her, immensely displeased with her rejection of him.

"Get out of my room." He closed his eyes and entered her mind, tweaking it ever so slightly, but just enough, and walked over to the side of her bed. "Let me know if you change your mind." He whispered in her ear.

She reached over and grabbed him by the shirt, dragging him on top of her and kissing him passionately. Her hands dove desperately for his pants.

_I'll take that as a yes..._  He thought with a smirk.

( **Corneria Docking Bay, 5:47am** )

_"You can save them."_

_That voice... I know it from somewhere._

_"It's alright. I know this is hard. But there is a way, I promise."_

_Everyone is dead. What am I supposed to do?_

_"Everything will change, soon..."_

_Soon?_

_"Soon you will know. Don't be afraid."_

_Afraid? Why would I be?_

_"The darkness is coming."_

The hooded face appeared, red eyes glowing, and smiled maliciously.

Krystal's eyes snapped open and she gasped. For a moment she forgot to breathe, and then she slowly exhaled into the dark.

_The darkness is coming._

She looked around, eyes wide, trying desperately to see anything. There was only darkness.

_It's already here!_  She thought.

She leaped out of bed and into the cold, frantic.  _Light... I need light!_  Her hands met with a cold steel wall. She turned and ran across the floor. Her shin met with something hard and she sprawled onto the ground with a grunt. Panic set in. She scrambled to her feet and ran into another wall. She felt along as fast as she could, searching for anything that could serve as an opening or source of light. Tears of desperation spilled down her cheeks. "Help!" She cried, but it sounded more like a choked out whimper.

"Shh... It's okay." She froze at the sound of the distorted masculine voice.

Soft blue light lit the room. She turned around slowly, heart still racing.

"You're safe."

A sigh escaped her lips as she trembled against the wall. She was in Fox's room on the Great Fox. A hooded figure stood in the room; the one who had saved her before.

"It...it must've been a bad dream." She said.

"It was all true."

She stared at the darkness beneath his hood. "What?"

"You can still save Cerinia." He said.

Images of the day her world had gone to hell came to her mind. She grimaced and tried to shake them away. "No!"

"It's alright...you can save them, Krystal. When you're ready, they'll be waiting."

The blue light faded and he disappeared. Krystal stood against the wall for a moment, and then she slid to the ground and cried.

Fox awoke to the sound of quiet sobs. He sat up slowly. Soft light began to enter from the window. The sun was beginning to rise over Corneria, setting light to the grey clouds in the sky and spreading its aura into the Docking Bay. He looked around the room and saw Krystal, sitting against the wall with her knees to her chest and her head in her arms.

He jumped up immediately and hurried to her side. "Are you alright?" He asked.

She started and snapped her head up, staring at him with wide eyes that were red from crying. A blush came to her cheeks and she turned away from him. "I'm fine..."

"Hey, don't use that line on me. You're  _not_  fine. What happened?"

"Bad dream..." She closed her eyes to keep from crying again.

Fox sat down quietly next to her and wrapped his arms around her. "I'm sorry."

She had half expected him to stand there and pester her about it like most people. Instead, here he was, holding her in his arms to comfort her. Another tear trailed down her cheek. She sat there for a good five minutes while he held her and stroked her arm tenderly.

That was when the first signs of trouble broke through her mind. The crowd outside of the docking bay was fired up with a vengeance.

Someone pounded on the door.

Slippy.

His thought patterns confirmed her fears.

"Fox! Fox!"

"Not now!" The vulpine snapped.

Krystal touched his arm. "It's urgent." She said quietly.

He kissed her softly on top of her head, then stood up reluctantly and went to the door. "Sorry." He said to his flustered green teammate. "What is it?"

"The...the people are outside..."

Krystal jumped to her feet and ran to the door. "They've killed a policeman!" She cried.

Fox spun around. " _What_?"

"They're furious. They think this is our fault. There is no news because no one can communicate."

Falco walked around the corner. He raised an eyebrow at the sight of Krystal, who was still only wearing Fox's t-shirt. She glanced down and then ran back into the room. The clothes she'd worn yesterday were on the floor. She picked them up and quickly changed behind the door while they were talking about the problem.

"What can we do?" Fox asked.

"The guys in the Docking Bay said that we're a big influential figure on the public and we might be able to appease them." said Slippy. "They also said that they think it's our fault, because the last thing that happened before the power went out was us flying in."

Falco stared at him with a blank look. "So they all think we're at fault but we're expected to convince them otherwise?"

Krystal pulled up her pants, zipped and buttoned the top, and ran out of the room and down the hall.

"H-hey..." Fox hesitated a moment and then ran after her. "Wait!"

"They're breaking the doors!" She cried over her shoulder. "We don't have time!"

She ran down the ramp as Fox opened it for her and jumped five feet before it hit the ground. She landed hard and winced as the pain in her ankle burst through her adrenaline rush. She swallowed it and ran, limping, for the staircase that led to the roof level of the Docking Bay. She burst through the door and stopped short at the safety rail just before the edge.

"Stop!" She cried desperately. "You all need to stop this, right now!"

The raging crowd silenced and looked up at her. The security guard that had tried to stop the crowd from breaking the doors lay on the ground, unconscious. The people in the front stepped back a bit to see the woman on the roof.

"You're killing people! Real, living beings with souls and thoughts and lives! You're better than that. All of you."

By this time the rest of the team had caught up with her. They stood behind her a few feet, somewhat stunned at her bravery.

"We want our power back!" Screamed a civilian. The rest began yelling their agreements.

"Will killing people get you your power?" The crowd fell silent again. "They were no warmer than you are. Even Star Fox slept in the cold and the dark last night. This is a problem in this entire city. If you start fighting amongst yourselves, how is anything going to get done? We need to be  _helping_  each other, not  _killing_  each other! You should be _ashamed_. How can you justify taking the life of an innocent living being? They had  _lives._  They had  _families._  And you took them away for no good reason!" The crowd was eerily silent for a few minutes. Not a murmur, not a peep. Krystal stood at the railing, staring at them with raging fury in her eyes.

Not even the wind dared to make a move. Everyone was as still as a statue. Anyone walking in on the scene might have thought they were modern art.

"We need to stick together." Krystal said finally. "Fighting isn't going to solve anything right now. There's a time to fight, and there's a time to be patient. For now, there's nothing we can do but wait. We've not been abandoned. Help is here, and they are doing all they can to help you. Killing each other is only going to slow them down."

"What should we do?" A man near the front spoke up.

"Go, help people. You're stronger together than standing alone. There are still people who need help. If you have food, share it. If you have blankets or other sources of heat, lend them to someone who doesn't. Corneria is stronger than this. We will recover soon, and everything will be alright, as long as we are all working together."

The crowd agreed, and one by one, they began to disperse.

Krystal clutched the rail, head throbbing. Her influence was a gift of telepathy, but it was exhausting to use on a mass of people.

"Krystal? That was amazing." Fox said, walking up behind her.

"Thanks..." She whispered, smiling weakly. She reached one hand up to her head as she turned to walk away. Her knees buckled beneath her and she began to drop.

"Kry-!" Fox lurched forward with a grunt and grabbed her outstretched hand, pulling her toward him as she fell. He dropped to one knee and caught her against his chest. She glanced up at him as her vision blurred, and then fell limp into his arms. "Katt!" He screamed.

"She'll be okay in a little while, calm down. Let's get her to the ship."

"What happened to her?"

"It's the telepathy. How else do you think she got the whole crowd to listen to her?" She asked.

The realization of what she had done sank in and Fox's eyes widened. "She used her powers to calm them down?"

"She's done this before, on Cerinia. It took a lot out of her, though. She just needs rest. Come on."

Fox carefully shifted her weight and lifted her into his arms. He carried her back to the ship, following Katt. "Are you sure she's okay?" He asked. "Maybe we should do a scan, just in case-"

Katt rolled her eyes. "Why don't  _you_  try influencing a whole crowd with only your mind? It's not as easy as she makes it look."

Fox sighed. He carried Krystal to his room and laid her on top of the bed. He stood over her for a few moments after tucking her in, and then he realized that it might startle her to wake up and see him staring at her. He scratched the base of his neck and walked out of the room, feeling anxious and out of place. He walked down the hall slowly.

Chills went down his spine with the feeling that someone was watching him.

He turned around and nearly jumped out of his skin at the sight of the hooded man. "Wha-... How'd you get in here!" He demanded.

The blue eyes rolled in exasperation. "Through the door, like a normal being." He said.

Fox narrowed his eyes.

"Alright, you got me. I teleported here. But that doesn't matter. What does is the girl who's sleeping on your bed right now."

Fox's face turned five different shades of pale white and bright red in the span of five seconds.

"Calm down, lover boy. I'm not talking about your love life. I know you're falling for her." He shrugged. "It's not hard to do... But what matters is that you keep her safe. It may not seem like it, but the world as you know it is relying on her. She's the only one who can save it. Life as you know it will end if she doesn't survive."

"What are you-"

"I'm not finished. Her life is at stake right now. Everything points to her. Right now, she's the most important person in existence, and my brother is trying to kill her. All these accidents happening around you? They're not accidents. Everything is related to her and him." He closed his eyes and took a strained breath. "You have to keep her safe. Don't..." He grimaced, reaching out to the wall for balance. "Don't let... anything bad happen to her."

"I'm not planning on it." Fox said, crossing his arms and studying the strange man before him. "Why are you hiding your identity?"

"If she... knew who I was..." He shook his head. "She can't know."

"But what about her attacker? Don't I have a right to know who I'm protecting her from?"

"No. You protect her from  _everything_. Everything, and everyone. Don't put her in a dangerous situation, no matter how safe you think it is. Your career isn't as..." He grunted in pain. "...important... as her life."

"Are you okay?"

The man chuckled weakly. "I'm dead..."

Fox blinked.

The man was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A shout out to "The Human," (on FanFiction.net) who inspired me to finish this chapter in one night. And yes, I most certainly DO read all of my reviews! :)
> 
> Katt: Pfft. Read? You practically obsess over them.
> 
> Me: ...Did I ASK you to breathe?
> 
> Katt: Yes. You wrote me to life, idiot.
> 
> Me: ...And now I will write you to DEATH.
> 
> Katt: ...I'll just...go...over here...and...shut up now...


	13. The Stone

The girl awoke with aching muscles. She inhaled slowly, wincing in pain. Her back, arms, and legs felt like they had been tenderized, and her temples throbbed like the old village bell. She rolled onto her side, tears spilling down her cheeks. It had happened again, and once again she had been powerless to stop him.

Gingerly she climbed out of bed, limping across the cold floor. Her memories of the last three days were gone. The power plant had been repaired at some point during her sleep, and the lights were working. That meant there was hot water again. There was a note on the bathroom door.

_Gone to Katina to take care of our problem._

She sighed.  _He's an idiot. He should have talked it over with me beforehand._ She turned the shower knob and reached out her delicate fingers to touch the warm liquid as it fell toward the tiled floor. Trembling lightly, she clutched the knob for support and stepped into the comforting steam.

She tenderly washed the caked blood and other fluids from her dirty white fur, clenching her jaw against the pain. It seemed the only time she could think clearly was when she was alone. Once her fur was clean, she pulled the lever for the drain plug and sank to the floor as the tub began to fill. Her eyes closed as the water covered her body. She turned off the flow with her feet and sank into the clear liquid, letting her muscles relax.

Despite the years of practice keeping her telepathic grandmother out of her mind, somehow he never seemed hindered by her mind blocks. If he could read her mind, he never let on that he knew her thoughts. Instead he would alter her memories and influence her emotions. He wasn't a powerful telepath like her grandmother, yet somehow he could do this. His effects on her emotions would wear off after a while, but the lost memories were irreplaceable. Why would he hurt her like this? Were they not supposed to be partners? It made her chest hurt to think that even knowing her past and the things she had been through, he would still do this to her. It made her wonder why she stayed with him at all.

Perhaps it was time for her to finally move on.

( **Meanwhile** )

"Are you here?" The man whispered. His hands trembled nervously, clutching within them the power to destroy the world. His captor had gotten careless, and he managed to escape his binds and steal it from them.

"Where did you get that?" The hooded man had appeared from thin air, his hood drawn back to reveal his face.

"I picked the lock, and he was gone. He left it unattended."

"I have to get this to Krystal."

"Here. Take it." He handed it to the cloaked figure.

"They'll come looking for you."

"I know... they're planning to do something soon. I'm going to find her before they do and warn her."

"You can't tell her about all this. He's altered her mind before in his favor. His telepathy is getting stronger. The Guardians thought that they'd taken it from him, but I think the stone's power allowed it to return." He looked down at the rock. "I have to leave now or I won't make it to her in time. Will you be alright?"

"Yes. I'll find my way out. Find out where that party is going to be, and then find me when you do. I intend to be there in time."

"How are you going to get away from this planet?"

He chuckled. "I'm a genius, remember? I'll find a way."

The man in the cloak nodded. "Godspeed." He focused on his power and his body vanished. It seemed easier today than most days.

He appeared in the bridge of the Great Fox, where most of team Star Fox was frozen in mid-conversation. He pushed open the door to the captain's room and stepped in, closing it behind him. There she lay, unconscious in bed. She had exhausted her powers to quell a mass of angry people, and her body was still recovering from the strain.

He walked around to the left side of the bed and placed the stone into her hand, gently closing her fingers around it. "Take this. It will help you. Don't lose it, you hear?" His hand lingered on her skin.

She winced, her head throbbing. "Wh...what?"

"We're risking our lives to get it to you."

She moaned in her sleep. "Tony?"

He gasped and stepped back, realizing he'd forgotten to activate his voice distorter.

She opened her eyes, but no one was there. "Hello?" No response. She sat up, trying to remember what had happened. She was in Fox's room.

A shiny object caught her attention from the corner of her eye. A small blue stone, glowing with ethereal light, sat on top of the blankets next to her hand. She picked it up and cradled it in her palm.

Energy filled her veins. She giggled as it surged through her soul, refreshing her being like cold water on a hot day. She inhaled deeply, clutching the stone to her chest. A dim memory rose from the depths of her mind.

She stared at the rock.

_It can't be the same one... can it? That's impossible. Why would it just turn up here?_

She examined the rock closely. The cyan hue flickered and moved, as if the light inside the rock was alive. She gazed at it for another few minutes before she tucked it away in her pocket and left the room.

The memories she had left behind long ago began to rise, plaguing her mind. She closed her eyes and tried to think of something else, but the images were becoming more clear every minute.

_The sunset._

_The ocean._

_The rock._

_The kiss._

She gritted her teeth and walked faster down the hall. In a matter of minutes she was at the far back, in the engine room. Tears filled her eyes as she tried unsuccessfully to rebury the surfacing memories. She took the blue stone from her pocket, staring at it through the blurred tears.

_"Still remember?"_

She dropped the rock and snapped her head up with a gasp, eyes wide. "Tony?"

No reply.

She scanned the room with her eyes and with her mind. Nothing.  _I know that voice... But he's gone._  She thought. She stooped to pick up the rock, gazing at its beauty once more. "For the record... I remember everything." She said softly. She turned around to leave and tripped. Still clutching the rock in one hand, she reached out with her free hand and clutched a random part of the engine for balance.

Pain struck her body hard. The last thing she saw was a blinding light, and then she lost consciousness.

( **Meanwhile** )

"Fox, we've got a hit on Katina." Falco said.

"What's happening?" Fox inquired.

"Something about a hostage situation. Someone's got a bunch of the work crew and some security guards locked inside the base, and they're not letting anyone near."

"Sounds like trouble. Where are the police?"

"Katina hasn't had a local police force in years. They haven't needed one. Between security and the soldiers posted, they've always had things under control. They've usually got at least one squadron at every outpost, but apparently this is one of the smaller outposts. The population isn't very large so they never bothered with more security."

"Let's check it out. Contact Pepper and let him know we're going in. I don't want to lose a potential payday." Fox said.

"Right-o, boss." Falco cringed. "Wow, I'm never saying that again."

Katt snickered. "Good, because that was awful. Hey, Fox. Where's Krystal? Is she still out?"

"Yeah, I just checked on her a few minutes ago."

The lights surged suddenly, flickering on and off and buzzing loudly. Fox froze in a defensive stance, staring at the ceiling with concern. "What happened?" He demanded.

"It seems there was a power surge. I'm trying to locate the source and see what caused it." Peppy said.

"It looks like it came from the engine room in the back." Slippy said.

"I'll check it out." Fox jogged down the hallway again toward the back of the ship. He stopped short as the hooded man appeared suddenly before him.

"Hurry." He said, and then vanished into thin air.

Fox hesitated for a moment, and then sprinted down the hall. He slammed into the door for the engine room and threw it open. All of the lights were blown out, including emergency lights. A dim glow came from the corner. He walked over cautiously, keeping the door open for light. A blue foot stuck out from behind the engine. He hurried over.

Krystal lay on the ground unconscious, clutching a blue stone that gave off the dim light in the room. Suddenly mesmerized, he reached out to grab it.

"Don't touch that!"

Fox flinched away, falling backward onto his rump. He looked around. Of course, the mysterious man was gone again. He lifted Krystal carefully into his arms and carried her out to the medical bay, a place that had been used more since her arrival than in the history of the Great Fox itself.

The scan told him that she was alright, but had suffered from severe electric shock. He frowned.

Katt walked in. "What happened?"

"I don't know. The computer is contradicting itself. According to this, she was shocked with enough power to blow out half of the ship's power grid. And yet, she's fine."

Katt peered over his shoulder at the screen. "Wow..."

"If she was really exposed to that... she should be dead." He turned and looked at her. "Anyone hit with that much energy would have been fried in a second. Their blood would boil, and the muscle spasms would stop the heart and severely damage the brain with even a quarter of the electric current that she just..." He trailed off. "I mean... not that I'm complaining. I'm relieved that she's alright, but... this is impossible." He walked over to Krystal and placed his hand on her face. Her skin was warm, almost feverish.

Her eyes opened, glowing unnaturally and emanating white light.

Fox recoiled his hand, stepping back. "Krystal?"

Her chest arched and a wave of light shot away from her body.

Katt ducked to the floor in time to dodge, but the light caught Fox in the stomach. The force hurled him over a metal table with medical tools, knocking it over and throwing him sideways into the wall. He dropped to the ground.

"Krystal!" Katt screamed.

Another wave of light released.

A man in a cloak appeared out of nowhere, absorbing the light into his body before it could do more damage. He grunted, trembling at the power that crawled through his veins. He stepped closer to the still unconscious vixen. Her eyes were open, but her mind was unaware of what was happening. Another wave built up. He leaned over and hugged her, absorbing the energy. "You need to wake up now." He whispered.

Katt screamed in the corner.

The man reached up and placed his fingers on either side of Krystal's head. He closed his eyes to concentrate on the few abilities he had mastered with telepathy.

The light faded, and her eyes closed again.

With a moan of pain, the man collapsed toward the ground. He vanished before he even hit the floor.

Katt got up slowly, eyes wide. "Krystal?"

The vixen groaned. Her eyes opened again, normal this time. She looked up at Katt as her vision blurred violently, and then lost consciousness again.

In the corner, Fox sat up with a groan, rubbing his back. "What happened?"

"I... I don't know. There was this light, and you were knocked out... and she was freaking out but then she stopped." Katt said in a jumble. Her heart was still racing. She didn't mention the man in the cloak, afraid she had imagined it.

"Is she okay?" Fox asked, standing up.

"I think so. She...looked like she was awake for a second... and then she passed out again."

The vulpine turned around to examine the damage done to the medical bay. A solid dent line had been imprinted around the room at the exact height of Krystal's body. Two screens were fractured, and a table with medical tools was knocked over. He sighed and picked up the table, scooping up the tools and piling them in the center. The screens would have to be replaced, but one still worked.

He scanned her body again. Vitals normal, no physical injuries or damages. It didn't even register that she had been electrocuted. He frowned at the screen. "Well... she seems fine. I'll take her back to my room and let her sleep some more." He lifted her into his arms and carried her to his bed, where he tucked her in and left her to sleep. He stepped out into the hall, still worried.

"What's going on, Fox?" Falco asked.

"Some kind of short in the engine room. We'll get it fixed when we're done with Katina. Krystal's still out. We'll have to go down without her. Even if she wakes up, I doubt she'll be in good enough condition to join us. She'll be safe here."

"Alright. We've picked up a distress call from the base. They said the captors requested our presence. That pretty much guarantees that we're getting a pay check. Pepper's authorized our permission to go in. We'll be in orbit in about ten minutes."

"What about our warp gate system?" Fox asked.

"Well, we were gonna test it out, but the power surge kinda freaked everyone out. If there's another problem while we're using the warp gate, it could destroy the entire ship. We can't have any potential problems when we're halfway through a portal. It could kill us all." Slippy explained. "We're using the gate at the CSS instead."

"Fair enough. Let's make sure the arwings are ready. Fuel up, check status, check weapons... you know the routine." Fox said. He, Katt, Peppy, and Falco stepped into the docking bay elevator. "Slip?"

"I'll catch up in a minute. I've gotta finish up the system scan and make sure nothing is critically damaged."

The doors closed and the elevator took them to the docking bay. Fox switched on the power to his arwing but left the engine off. The fuel was full and the Anti-Grav system was up to par. The crack in the cockpit window had been repaired. He turned on the system scan and waited. All functions normal, engine status normal. He took a deep breath and sank back into the seat.

"Entering orbit now, Fox." Slippy's voice said over the intercom. A few moments later he stepped out of the elevator and climbed into his ship. "Pepper says we're cleared to land, but we'd better steer clear of the base to avoid raising an alarm.

"All systems go." Fox said into his headset. "Let's do it."

( **Meanwhile** )

Krystal's eyes snapped open. For a few seconds, she didn't dare to breathe. She slowly exhaled, trembling lightly, and proceeded to get to her feet.

She reached out with her mind, searching for Fox. The ship was empty; she was alone. Feeling uneasy, she walked to the bridge.

Something was wrong, but she couldn't tell what.

"You forgot something."

She screamed and whipped around to face the distorted voice.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

"I can't sense you. I'm not used to anyone being able to sneak up on me."

He held out his hand, holding the blue stone.

"Where did you get that?"

"Off the floor. You dropped it. Remember?"

She furrowed her brow, remembering the sharp pain she'd felt before she blacked out. "What happened?"

"The men who repaired the ship left a section of wires exposed. You fell on it."

She gave him a doubtful look. "Electrocution? How am I alive?"

"The stone saved your life. I think its powers might be transferred through electric contact. If I'm correct, you're stronger now." He gestured to his outstretched hand. "You need to keep this."

"Why?"

"It's important that my brother doesn't get it back. You having this means he's weaker."

"Who is he?"

"I can't tell you that."

"Then who are you?"

"There's a reason I'm wearing a cloak and hiding my identity, and, shockingly, the reason is because I'm not going to tell you who I am."

"Why is he trying to kill me?"

"Take the rock."

"Tell me what's going on!"

"Take the rock! You can't let him get it, do you understand?!"

Krystal stepped forward and grabbed it, and then she grabbed his wrist and pulled him toward her.

"What're you-"

She grabbed the edge of his hood and began to lift, but he vanished into thin air.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There was previously an altercation in this chapter between Bad Cloaky and Good Cloaky near Krystal. I took it out, because at this point in the story it doesn't really make sense that he just showed up on the Great Fox with no purpose other than to scare her. I might add the same fight to a later chapter instead.


	14. Katina

Krystal grabbed his wrist and pulled him towards her. His heart skipped a beat and then slammed in his chest.

"What're you-..."

For a split second, he thought she was about to kiss him. Her hand reached for his hood, and he panicked. Time resumed as normal, and he was once again invisible. He sighed, staring for a few seconds at her face. Of course she wasn't going to kiss him. The fact that he thought she would, even for a second, made him feel like an idiot. He closed his eyes and teleported away.

( **Meanwhile...** )

Fox landed his arwing outside of the Katina base, over a hill and behind a giant mushroom root. He got out and began the ten minute trek towards the base, keeping aware of his surroundings and staying as quiet as he could.

 _This would be worlds easier if Krystal was here..._  He thought. He put in his earpiece and contacted Slippy. "Any updates on the situation?" He whispered.

"Nothing new yet, Fox. That distress signal is still coming." The frog replied.

Fox reached the wall of the base. The gates were shut tight. "Any chance you can hack the gates open without them noticing?" He asked quietly.

"Well, I can try. If they're paying any attention to the lock systems they'll see it. But unless they're top notch hackers, they should just think it's a glitch in the system."

"Go for it. If they do notice and come running, it'll give me a chance to test out this new combat suit."

Fox leaned against the wall, waiting. A few seconds later, the gate slid open. "Thanks, Slip." He readied his blaster with a charged shot and cautiously crept into the base.

The area was completely empty.

"Hey, Slip, do you know if they have any hidden cameras?"

"Not that I know of. Usually they just have guards."

"For an advanced military base, they sure don't take a lot of precautions." Fox scoffed.

"I guess they overestimated their abilities. They probably thought that no one would mess with them because this base is smaller than the others." Slippy replied.

Fox looked around once more before lowering his blaster. He made his way to the elevator that led inside without incident. "I've got a bad feeling about this..." He muttered, stepping in and pressing the button.

"If you ... help, just ... be there."

"What?"

The comm gave off a few seconds of static, and then went silent.

Fox again readied his blaster. "Just what I need today." He growled.

Sure enough, the moment the door opened a flurry of lasers launched towards him. He let off one blast and dropped to the floor, covering his head with his arms. He peered under his sleeve to see what was firing at him. It was an auto-lock-on mechanical firing device. He charged a shot and destroyed the main gun.

There was silence again.

 _I bet they're all on the next level down..._  Fox thought.

He charged up his blaster and walked down the hall to make sure the room was clear. His comm crackled in his ear.

"First room secure." He said. "Did you get that?"

Static blared. "... under ... can't make ... attack ..." It went quiet again.

Fox sighed. He walked back to the elevator and punched in the code for the bottom level.  _This better not be a trap..._  He thought. Just in case, he tucked himself as far into the corner as he could.

The minute the elevator landed on the second level, laser fire erupted from down the hall. Fox groaned audibly. He activated his suit's barrier capability and fired off a shot towards another turret. The blaster's lock-on mechanism kicked in and blew the top clean off.

There were still lasers coming at him. He charged another shot and blasted the second turret. "The hell are they hiding down here?" He muttered aloud as he took out a third one. The barrier faded. "There goes that. There'd better not be more."

He took a step out of the elevator and froze on instinct. The hairs on his arms and the back of his neck stood straight out. A soft  _whooshing_  sound that made his spine tingle was immediately followed by a sharp pain in his calf. He jumped back, swearing loudly, and pulled a small blade out of his leg. "What the hell?"

He checked his wrist comm for possible solutions. One of the new abilities on his suit was called Illusion. He readied it, watching the quick instruction demo. As per instruction, he crouched nearly to one knee as if he were getting ready to sprint. In one smooth move, he pressed the activation and lunged forward.

_Whoosh!_

_Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!_ _Whoosh whoosh! Whoosh!_

In the blink of an eye, he was at the corner.

_Pew pew! Pew pew!_

Without a second to catch his breath, Fox rolled to the far wall and fired off shots at the turret down the next hallway. He missed. The lasers began to move toward him. Without thinking, he dove back across the hall to take cover from behind the corner.

_Whoosh!_

_Squish!_

"AUGH!" Fox grimaced and pulled a blade out of his thigh. He swore loudly and took out the turret. Then he crept forward cautiously, gritting his teeth against the pain in his bleeding leg. "Whatever son of a bitch set this up is going to die." He growled.

He moved forward, on guard for whatever attack lay in wait around the next corner...

( **Meanwhile...** )

Krystal walked slowly through the Great Fox, senses on alert. Her telepathy told her she was alone on the ship, but she no longer fully trusted it. Both of the hooded men had somehow eluded her senses. Not only that, her blue eyed savior had vanished into thin air. He could both vanish and appear on command. And if he could do it, what was there to say that his evil counterpart couldn't?

She made her way to the bridge. Rob stood in the corner, staring at a screen.

"Where is everyone?"

The robot turned and looked at her. "The team is on a mission to save the Katina outpost." He stated in monotone.

"Is there an extra arwing? Can I get there as well?" She asked.

"Your new arwing is in the Docking Bay. It is inadvisable for you to go but I cannot stop you." Rob replied.

"What's the mission?"

"A distress call was received from an outpost on Katina. It is highly possible they have hostages. Slippy, Peppy, Katt, and Falco are on the outside of the base. Fox is inside the base looking for the hostages. Communications were cut off with Fox ten minutes ago. Hostiles appeared in the sky after contact was lost."

"Do you know if Fox is okay?"

"Negative. No communication with Fox is currently possible."

"Has someone gone after him?"

"Negative. The base is being overrun."

"Send the coordinates of Fox's last position to my arwing. I'm going after him." Krystal said.

"It is advisable that you take a weapon, Krystal."

She walked into the Docking Bay and reached for a blaster, but paused just before her fingers made contact. A glint of blue light caught her eye. A sly grin spread on her face.

Staff in hand, she jumped into the arwing. "It can't be that difficult to pilot alone." She flipped a grey switch, and the engine roared to life. The Great Fox's new Docking Bay machinery spun the ship to face the exit. The docking mechanism released, and the arwing floated smoothly out of the air field. She pressed the accelerator and shot off towards the planet's surface.

All she had to do was follow the red arrow on the screen. Once she entered the atmosphere, she spotted explosions in the sky below. A fight was going on.

She switched on the comm. "Guys, it's Krystal. I'm going after Fox. Try and clear me a path?"

"Copy that." Falco said. "We'll do our best, but we've kinda got our hands full."

"Thanks." She estimated the location of the red dot on the actual field, and flew towards it. Lasers flew past her. She fired off a few shots at a ship in her way. It exploded into fire, and the remains fell to the ground. There were no thought patterns from the ships. "These ships don't have pilots. They're robots!"

"Sit tight, I'm about to clear you a path. Get ready to act fast." Falco said. He boosted up to get alongside of Krystal's arwing and fired a bomb. The enemies guarding the entrance to the base evaporated in white light. "I'll cover you. Go!"

She pulled the ship down next to the entrance. Unsure of how to land properly, she got as close as she could to the ground and then shut off the power. The arwing sank with a loud bang.

Krystal grabbed her staff and jumped out of the cockpit.

"She doesn't even have a combat suit! What is she thinking?" Falco cried. "She's going in without a blaster for godsake."

"She's got her staff. She'll be okay." Katt said.

"She's gonna get killed." Falco replied.

Krystal ran into the elevator. She could sense Fox's presence coming from below.

A pad with numbers on it sat on the wall. It was an old fashioned code box with actual buttons. Some of the numbers were dirtier than others.

 _The dirtiest button is the first one in the code. The oil from everyone's fingers rubs off most on the first button. The next lightest one is the next one in the code, because some of the dirt and oil has already been rubbed off from the first button._ Examining the pad carefully, she punched in the five digit code by following the pattern. The elevator sank to the 2nd level.

There were more damaged machines at the end of the hall, and several blades sticking out of the side walls. She narrowed her eyes. There were two blades on the floor with blood on them.

She swung the extended staff into the room.

_Whoosh!_

_Clang!_

A blade bounced off the staff.

Krystal examined the wall from inside the elevator, calculating the positions of the blades that would shoot out. A few had been used up by Fox, but there were several more.

She took a deep breath and leaped forward, spinning her staff.

_Clang! Clang! Clang!_

She cartwheeled gracefully towards the end of the hall.

_Clang!_

A blade struck the end of the staff and threw off her rhythm. The staff clattered uselessly to the floor several feet away, and she lost the momentum in her cartwheel. She fell to the floor, wide open to the blade shooters.

She thrust out her hands to cover her face and clenched her eyes shut, bracing for pain.

_Thwop thwop thwop thwop thwop thwop thwop! Claaaaannngggg!_

She opened her eyes and gasped. A blue force field covered the length of the hall, protecting her from the blades. They lay uselessly on the floor beyond the field.

She released the field and stood up, a bit shaken. The blades had run out for the moment. She picked up her staff and continued towards Fox's presence.

( **Meanwhile** )

"What is this bullshit?" The husky-voiced man grunted angrily as he shot down another fighter. "There aren't even lifeforms on these bloody ships. Who the hell builds a mechanical army?" He blasted another one and rolled out of the way of a rear attack. "I thought we were on their side. Why are they shooting us?"

"That's what I'm wondering. For someone who wanted this job done fast they're sure as hell not making this easy for us." The black furred feline shot down four ships and circled around.

"Let's just get inside and finish the damn job," a nasally voice chimed in.

"Is that an... arwing?" Asked the feline.

"Shit. Why is Star Fox here?" The husky-voice asked.

"Let's have some fun." The feline purred.

"Careful; you know how that always turns out."

"Oh, come on." Said a bacony voice. "Like you haven't been craving a challenge."

The husky voice chuckled. "Don't come crying to me when you get shot down."

( **Meanwhile** )

"We're getting creamed. Where are these guys even coming from?" Falco scoffed as he chased down another fighter.

"Kill one and ten appear. I have no idea. It's like they're just appearing from thin air." Katt replied.

"Is that a... Wolfen?" Falco asked.

"Holy shit. Star Wolf is here? Let's kick their tails!"

"Hang on, it looks like they're fighting those things too."

"Are they on  _our_  side?" Slippy asked.

"Kinda looks like it, huh?"

"HEY! That asshole took a shot at me!" Katt snapped.

"Alright. So they're not on our side. Looks like we've got ourselves a real fight on our hands." Falco smirked, bombing a group of enemies and boosting towards the Wolfens. "They wanna mess with us? Bring it on."

( **Meanwhile** )

Fox flattened himself in the alcove, trying to get a moment to breathe. "There's no end to these guys!" He groaned. The endless stream of tiny robots had appeared without warning, streaming in by the hundreds from around the corner and firing lasers. He scowled and fired off a few random shots.

_Sheweh! Sheweh!_

Two red bolts flew by his alcove and knocked back the line of tiny robots.

"I know that sound..." He involuntarily grinned as a blue furred vixen ran past him, holding the staff he'd become quite attached to during his trip to Sauria.

_Sheweh! Sheweh!_

"Take this!" Krystal cried, blasting the line back with a ball of blue energy. She knocked back several using her staff, and several more with another energy blast. It didn't take her long to find the source of the small army; a portal. She jammed her staff into the eye of the portal device, breaking it in two. The portal closed. She smashed the last two robots and took a moment to catch her breath.

Fox walked up behind her. "You're okay."

She turned and smiled. "Of course I'm okay. And thanks to me, you are too."

He chuckled. "Thanks... it's good to see you up and around, and not passed out."

"How... how long was I out?"

"A few days."

Her eyes widened. "Really?"

"Corneria's power is back. And I don't know if you noticed, but the ship's been fully repaired as well. You have your own arwing now. And your own room. Uh... we didn't want to get furniture without asking you first, so it's still empty."

"Wow. I've missed a lot."

"Yeah..."

"Well, didn't Rob say this might be a hostage situation?"

"Right."

"I'm sensing thought patterns from farther back. Let's go." She took off at a jog, and he followed.

They rounded a corner where a group of people were tied up and gagged. Fox took out his pocket knife and went to work on cutting them loose. Krystal helped a few with the painful duct tape on their mouths.

"Sorry." She said.

"Thank you! Thank you for saving us!" A black lab cried.

"Who did this to you?"

"A horrible, horrible man. He was wearing a black cloak that hid his face, but those eyes..." The girl shuddered. "He was possessed! His eyes were red, like a demon or something!"

Krystal frowned. She turned to Fox. "If it was the man in the cloak, do you think..."

"Could be a trap." Fox finished. "We need to hurry up and get them out. Is anyone else down here?"

Krystal closed her eyes. "I'm not sensing anyone else, but then... lately it's been off."

"What do you mean?"

"I couldn't sense the cloaked man. It was like he wasn't even there."

"He could be hiding somewhere." Fox cut the ropes on the last hostage. "Get them out of here. I'll make sure there's no one else here."

"Follow me. Don't lag behind, but let me go first."

"We're military, miss. We can handle ourselves."

"With all due respect, we're the ones who just untied all of you." Fox said. "The man we're up against is very powerful, and very dangerous. Unless you'd like to come face to face with the man responsible for taking out Corneria City's power last week, please just let us do our job. Krystal knows what she's doing. Stay behind her if you want to live."

Not another protest was heard from the group.

Krystal led them back the way they'd come, cautiously rounding each corner. Fox had disabled most of the traps on his way, but she was still cautious in case they had missed one. She stopped everyone before the hall with the blades.

"Hang on. There was a bad trap here." She stretched out the staff. A blade shot out. She focused and stretched out her hand. A blue field engulfed the hallway in a tunnel to the elevator. Dozens of blades shot out and bounced off, clattering to the floor."Be careful. There was a machine in the room above you that Fox destroyed, but there may be another trap. Two at a time up the elevator, and wait in the first level. There's a battle going on above. Whoever goes first, holler to let the rest of us know it's safe."

Two soldiers went to the elevator.

"Clear!" One yelled a moment later.

Two by two, the group went into the room on the first level. Krystal dropped the force field when the last of them had gone. She felt a bit weak, but she needed to make sure Fox was okay.

She ran back down the hallway.

"Not so fast."

She turned to face the owner of the nasally voice, a rather unattractive chameleon. "Can I help you?"

"Awfully snotty for one who's facing her killer."

"Awfully cocky for one who hasn't even caught me yet."

Leon pulled a gun. "Someone wants you dead, and they've put quite a bounty on you. I'm here to get it before someone else does."

"Can I at least know who?"

"I'm afraid that's a violation of client confidentiality."

"If I guess correctly, would you tell me? If I'm going to die anyways."

"Perhaps."

"Either a mysterious red-eyed demon in a cloak, or a white cat?"

Leon raised his brows. "I see you know your adversary. Regardless, I'm still going to kill you."

"I do know them. I also happen to know that they haven't got hardly enough money to put a legitimate bounty on me." She lied. "You can try to kill me anyway, but I can guarantee you won't be seeing an ounce of that bounty."

His eyes narrowed. "You're lying."

"Could be. I'm quite a lot of trouble for a simple bounty. I can tell you now I'm not going out without a good fight."

"Good. I like it when they squirm." He sneered.

"I also happen to know that if you kill me, I'll be avenged. And trust me, you aren't going to escape my friends very easily."

"Please. I'm a highly trained mercenary. None of your pathetic friends can touch me."

"Pathetic?"

Leon's attention snapped to the intruder in the corner. "You..."

"That's a bit rude. If  _I'm_  pathetic, what does that make you?" Fox smirked.

Leon turned back to Krystal. "You're with Star Fox?!"

"I told you, I'm not going out without a fight."

The lizard scoffed. "Who says I'm going to stick around that long?"

"Smart choice." Fox chimed in. "A good mercenary knows when he's outnumbered."

"A better one gets away with the bounty anyway."

_Clink_

A round object rolled away from Leon as his skin changed to blend with the room.

"What was-"

"GET DOWN!" Fox yelled, diving away from the yellow grenade that was rolling towards him.

_**KABOOOM!** _

"Fox!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought about removing the Star Wolf bit, it seemed a bit random - but this is a Star Fox fanfic. What would it be without a surprise appearance from our favorite rivals?


	15. Fight

"Fox!"

Krystal bolted to the corner as parts of the ceiling caved in. She raised her hands over her head, putting up a shield and deflecting a few stray pieces of wall. A cloud of dust rose from the debris.

"Fox!"

She strained her hearing, but there was no response. Suddenly, she realized that something was missing. She could no longer feel his presence from down the hall. Her heart dropped.

He was gone.

( **Meanwhile** )

The small yellow ball rolled towards him. It was hardly larger than a tennis ball. The blue patterns on the surface began to glow, and that's when he recognized that it was a grenade.

"GET DOWN!" He screamed desperately.

Krystal was already running the opposite direction.

He turned to run as time slowed. Pushed off the ground with his left leg.

Used momentum and pushed off with his right, covering his head with his arms.

The explosion rang in his ears, echoing off the walls. The initial shock wave sent him to the floor.

And then suddenly, there was silence.

His eyes were shut tight, and his arms still covered his head.

"Get up. Quickly."

Fox snapped his head up at the voice. His ears were ringing, but he could still hear.

" _Get. Up._ " Piercing blue eyes glowed from under the dark hood. He extended his hand.

Fox reached up uneasily, but accepted the stranger's help. As he got to his feet, he noticed his surroundings and his jaw dropped wide open. The exploding grenade was frozen in midair, along with debris. "What's...going on?"

"I stopped time. I'm saving your ass. Don't complain. Come." The hooded man led Fox through the floating debris and towards the elevator.

"Krystal?"

"She'll be fine."

She was already in the corner, hands raised in defense. A blue force field covered her.

"What the hell is that?" Fox asked.

"Krystal can tell you later. I don't have much time."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because... I love her."

Fox tensed.

"I'm not going to hurt you. This isn't about rivalry. I wouldn't stand a chance even if it were. She doesn't even..." He trailed off and looked down. "I'm here to protect her. And that's all. And since you're protecting her as well, it's in my best interest to make sure you stay alive to do so."

"If you love her, how are you okay with helping another man who wants to win her heart?"

The hooded figure chuckled. "You've already won her heart. Like I said, no contest. You've won her heart, she has mine, and all I can do is make sure that she's safe and she's happy."

Fox frowned. He couldn't imagine having to watch Krystal fall in love with someone else and be okay with it.

They reached the elevator. "It's frozen in time. Give me a moment." The man said. He closed his eyes, and the elevator moved.

Up top, time was still frozen. Lasers hovered mid-fire, and ships stood in place.

"What the hell happened?" Fox asked.

"Enemy ambush. See that Arwing?" He pointed to Krystal's ship. "Use it. I have to make sure she's safe. Time will unfreeze now." He vanished.

The second the cloaked man was no longer in sight, time resumed. Lasers flew and ships blasted by. Fox dove for the Arwing and joined the fray.

( **Meanwhile** )

Krystal forgot to breathe. Fox was gone. Dust clouded the air, debris flooded the hall, and Fox was gone.

No, not gone. Moved.

She stretched out her mind and breathed a sigh of relief. He was above ground now.

A frown crossed her face.  _How the hell did he get from here to outside in half a second?_

The answer would have to wait. Leon jumped from behind her with a knife. If not for her senses, she would not have been able to avoid it. The combat training she'd learned from her father as a child kicked in. Parry, strike, step back.

He was invisible, but she could sense his presence. She closed her eyes.

To the left.

She ducked under the swipe, delivered a swift chop to his elbow, and moved smoothly back to a ready stance.

Front.

A sidestep avoided the clumsy attack, and a quick jab to the ribs countered well.

_How is she doing this? There's no way she can even see me!_

"I can hear you." She said.

Leon growled. "No one's got hearing that good."

"No, you're right. But now I know exactly..." She spun around, extending her staff as she turned, and slammed the end into the side of his face.

"Oof!" He collapsed with a  _thump._

"...where you are." She finished with a smirk.

Knocked unconscious, Leon's skin returned to its natural green color. His suit was specially modified to change color with his skin, giving him the ability to become completely invisible without stripping down.

The sound of three slow claps came from the corner.

Krystal turned towards the sound and gasped lightly.

"Well, well. You're tougher than you look." The red eyed man smirked under his hood, speaking with a distorted voice.

She tensed. "What do you want, Cloaky?"

He raised his brows in surprise. "Who, me?" He asked, gesturing dramatically to himself. "Isn't it obvious? I thought it was obvious. Did I not make it clear enough?" He threw up his arms in mock exasperation. "My, my! How silly of me. Well, I'll just have to spell it out for you. I," he began in a slow, sarcastic tone, "want  _you_ ," he gestured to her, "dead!"

"Why? What have I ever done to you? I don't even know you!"

He rolled his eyes. "Of course you don't know me, that's why I'm wearing this hood. If you knew me, it wouldn't be fun anymore."

"Why do you want to kill me?" Krystal demanded.

"Well, you see, my life would simply be so much better if you were dead."

"You're avoiding my question. Why do you want me dead?"

"It's more of a need, really."

Her fear was turning quickly to annoyance. "Why!?" She cried.

"No need to yell." He almost sounded genuinely offended. "You see, if you continue living your life, I'll get punished. I'll die. I don't want that to happen. I simply can't allow you to continue." As Cloaky spoke, a red glow formed around him. With a flick of his wrist, he sent the wave of energy towards Krystal.

It caught her off guard, throwing her backwards. She hit the wall with a grunt and fell to her hands and knees.

"Mayhap you are less tough than I thought." He threw another wave of red at her. She blocked it with a shield, but it looked to take a lot out of her.

"Stop!" A blue wave of energy came flying from the corner, just in time to intercept another blow to Krystal. "You've hurt her enough."

Cloaky chuckled. "Look who decided to show up."

"Why isn't he frozen?" Krystal asked.

"His little powers don't work on me. I've got the same energy, you see. You and I, Kryssy, we can't be frozen by him when he's near us. The life force bleeds off of him... I can feel it, it makes me stronger..." He laughed darkly.

The blue eyed brother appeared next to Krystal. "That may be so, but you can't kill what you can't see." He winked at her and vanished again.

Cloaky threw a red blast towards Krystal. His brother appeared in an instant in front of her, catching it with his body and absorbing it.

"You can do this, too. Focus." He disappeared.

Cloaky charged a larger blast of energy and hurled it forward. Krystal threw up her arms to block it, but the blue eyed brother absorbed it again.

"I can do this all day!" He said, and then vanished.

The red eyed figure yelled in frustration. He began charging again. From his left, a blue flash of energy struck him nearly point blank, throwing him to the ground.

"Get out of here, go! I'll take care of him."

Krystal ran for the elevator.

Cloaky threw out his arms, sending a circular wave of energy from his body. It caught Krystal in her legs, throwing her back to the ground and flinging his brother several feet backwards. "Your time will run out eventually." He stood up and walked towards her.

She got to her feet and sprinted to the elevator. She slammed the up button, but she wasn't fast enough. Cloaky grabbed her arm and jerked her away at the last second, throwing her again to the floor.

"Looks like you're both getting weaker."

A yell came from behind Cloaky, followed by the sudden appearance of the hooded figure behind him, holding a sizable chunk of broken cement over his head. He promptly dropped it onto the back of Cloaky's head, knocking him out cold.

"How did you do that?" Krystal asked.

"I realized he's right, in a way. The reason I can bring you into my time bubble without having to try is because of the energy. I've been channeling it wrong. If I focus inward, I can keep it all to myself and keep both you and him out of my bubble. It's the opposite of how I bring other people into it, like I did with Fox a few minutes ago."

"You saved Fox?"

He nodded. "I had to focus my energy to him, because he doesn't have it naturally. That exact focusing is why you weren't in the bubble." He glanced down at the unconscious body at his feet. "You'd better go. I'll take care of him for now."

"Thank you for helping me. I don't know what I would have done without you."

"Work on your energy. You need to learn to control it if you're going to protect yourself from him."

"I think maybe a nice blaster shot to the face might also do the trick."

"I would appreciate it if you  _didn't_  do that. We're connected; his death will kill me as well."

She frowned, crossing her arms. "So that's why you haven't done it."

He knelt to his brother, taking his arm, and then they both vanished.

( **Meanwhile** )

In the skies above the base, Arwings and Wolfens battled it out in the midst of a growing number of enemy ships. Things were beginning to get out of hand.

Fox took the first opportunity he could to boost up behind Wolf and fired several shots, rapidly depleting the Wolfen's shields. "Can we just call this even for right now and focus on the growing hoard of enemies around us?" He cried angrily.

Wolf grunted as the ship jerked. He pulled up to evade the attacks. "You got a deal. We'll finish this after we're done with them."

Fox looped around and went off after another ship. "Where the hell are they even coming from?"

"There's got to be either a door or a portal somewhere. They can't just be appearing out of thin air, and they're not coming from the sky or another area." Katt said.

"Alright, let's get these bastards. Try and figure out where they're coming from." Falco chimed in.

_"Where the hell is my ship?"_

Fox started at her voice in his head.  _Sorry. Mine's a bit of a hike, but I'll give you a ride there when we get a break up here._

"I think I found the portals!" Slippy said happily. "There are tons of baddies pouring out of three spots. I'll send the coordinates to your radar."

Fox looked down as three purple dots showed up on screen. "Got it. Cover me and I'll take em out." He boosted for the nearest spot, hidden in a corner behind a mushroom. A single bomb wiped out the small blue portal and its projecting device. The mushroom came crashing down with it. He looped around for the second one, which was on the other side of the wall. Another bomb took out the portal, but not before taking a chunk of wall with it. "So is this the area where they skimped on finances? This wall is supposed to withstand a lot more than a simple smart bomb."

No one commented. He flew for the third target.

"I got it." Katt said as she destroyed the last portal. "Now let's finish these guys!" She dove hard for a group and shot off another bomb.

Falco got in pursuit of five, four, three ships, quickly firing down their numbers with lasers. "You're going down!"

Wolf and Panther locked on to a cluster and fired into it until the only remains were debris.

Even Slippy and Peppy managed to take down several. Without the portal to increase their numbers, the drones were far less fierce.

Fox swooped down and landed Krystal's arwing. He opened the cockpit, and she jumped up. "Hop on my lap. I need a ride to my ship."

"Let's take out some of these goons while we're at it." She grinned, seating herself on his lap and taking the controls. His arms acted as her seat belt, wrapping around her waist and holding her gently in place.

It only took a second to lift off and go after a number of baddies. In a matter of minutes, all but three or four of them had been finished off. Krystal left the last of them to the team and piloted Fox back to his arwing.

"How do you land properly? I had to just shut off the engine when I was close."

"You take this like this..." Fox places his hands over hers on the control sticks and steered her towards the ground, fortuitously nuzzling her neck with his cheek as he looked over her shoulder. "And then you press this..." He pressed the purple button for landing gear. "The ship will land itself, and you shut off the engine." He did so. "And there ya go." He smiled.

"Thanks." She looked over her shoulder to give him a grin, but paused when her nose brushed up against his.

Butterflies erupted in Fox's stomach. He grabbed her shoulder and pulled her into a deep kiss. It was too great a temptation to resist at this point. Her breath was hot on his face, making his heart pound. The taste of her mouth was the sweetest thing he had ever tasted, and he wanted to taste it again and again and-

The comm went off. "Last one down! Take that, alien scum!" Falco hollered.

"Falco, they're not even aliens." Katt said.

Krystal blushed deeply and turned away. Fox had half a mind to switch off the comm and kiss her again, but she looked a bit uncomfortable.

"Sorry..." He mumbled.

"It's fine." She replied. She opened the cockpit and climbed out, freeing him. He followed her out and then got into his own ship without making eye contact.

"Still feel up to the fight, Wolfie?" Fox asked.

"Aw, you're not gonna wuss out, are you Fox?" Wolf taunted.

"Not a chance. Bring it."

"You realize there are twice as many of us as there are of you?" Krystal asked. "Not exactly a fair fight."

"So, get some more guys and we'll be even." Pigma snorted.

"No, she's right. I'm gonna sit this one out." Peppy said. "I'm too old for petty dogfights."

"I'll sit out with Peppy. I think you guys can handle them." Slippy said, secretly grateful for an excuse to get out of the line of fire.

"Alright, hit them hard and don't hold back!" Krystal said, boosting forward.

"I'm gonna skin you, evil witch." Leon snapped, targeting Krystal.

Fox narrowed his eyes.  _You're going first, you green blooded goblin._  He locked on to Leon's ship.  _No one talks to Krystal that way. No one._

Krystal couldn't help smiling at the fact that he was shooting down Leon for a snide comment towards her.

"What's this? A new member?" Panther purred, cruising past Krystal's ship. "What a lovely rose in such a nasty battle."

"Careful, assface." Katt snapped. "That one has sharp thorns, and one of them is me." She fired a bomb that he couldn't avoid without losing a chunk of his wing.

"Two roses? My, my. You two girls might want to sit this one out. I wouldn't want you to get hurt."

"Girls?" Krystal asked in a surprised tone.

"Alright guys, leave this little boy to the women." Katt ordered.

Wolf chased after Fox, who managed to avoid most of his attacks while still hacking away at Leon's shield levels.

Falco came up behind Wolf and knocked a chunk out of his rear shields with a fully charged laser blast. "This isn't even a fight. This is child's play."

"You would know what it's like to play with children, bird." Leon snickered.

"What was that?"

"You heard what I said. Don't act dumber than you already are."

"That's it. I'm with you, Foxie. This pathetic loser's about to go down." Falco boosted past Wolf and fired a bomb at Leon, depleting his shields.

"Augh! Me? ME?" Leon cried in horror. He pressed the boost button and left the battlefield while his tattered ship could still fly.

"Cross me again and I'll send you straight to hell." Falco threatened.

The girls took out Panther in a matter of minutes.

Pigma snorted into the comms. "So, Fox, wanna do your daddy's old friend a favor? I'd like to try out for Star Fox again."

Fox scoffed in disgust.

"You've got some balls saying that to him." Falco said.

"Pigma, you're the scum of the earth." Wolf said. "Even I'm not that petty. That was just too far."

Krystal sensed the rage building up in Fox. She switched to a private channel. "Are you alright, Fox?"

Fox swore, "F*k him, how dare he?" He gripped the controls tightly.

She received a private channel from Katt and accepted.

"Don't ask Fox about it. Pigma was a part of the original Star Fox team, with Peppy and Fox's father. He's is the one who betrayed them to Andross, and it's mainly his fault that James died. On top of being responsible for that, he turned around weeks later and ruthlessly attacked Peppy."

"That's awful! What a disgusting thing to do." Krystal glared in the direction of Pigma's ship.

Fox charged forward, blasting Pigma with deadly accuracy. "You should've died in his place."

"Alright, alright! Enough already!" Pigma squealed, unable to avoid his attacker.

Fox continued wailing on his ship. The pig's shields went down, but the vulpine did not let up in his attacks.

"Alright, I take it back! Lemme go!"

Fox's face twisted into an angry scowl as the Wolfen lost a wing, then another wing. He continued the chase.

"Fox!" Krystal's voice pulled him from his trance and he stopped firing. She switched to a private channel with him. "Don't stoop to his level. This isn't a fair fight."

He took a deep breath. "You're right... Thank you, Krystal." He looped around, away from Pigma.

"You win this round, Fox." Wolf said. "I'm not going to fight you after what just went down. I'd apologize for Pigma's behavior, but he's not my responsibility. "

"Surrendering already? I thought you once said you were the best pilot around, Wolfie. Didn't I hear you asking for more when this started?" Falco asked.

"Don't push it, feathers." Wolf growled. "I'm letting you off easy this time for Fox's sake, out of respect for him. You've done nothing to earn that from me." He took a long breath. "Pigma's been on his last straw for a while now. He's no longer welcome in our ranks. Smuggling and drug running is one thing, but I fight fair and I expect the same from my team." He sighed. "Never mind. We'll see you again, soon enough." Wolf led his team away.

"Clean victory." Katt smirked. "Not even a scratch."

It was then that Fox remembered his wounds. Without the adrenaline rush, he was starting to feel the pain. His leg was still bleeding, and he was starting to feel light headed. "I think... we should head back now..."

"You okay, Fox?" Krystal asked.

"Yeah. I'll be fine."

He tumbled out of his Arwing ten minutes later, nauseous and in pain. Falco helped him into the medical bay.

"The hell happened in here?" He asked, gesturing to the dents on the wall and the destroyed equipment.

"Long...story... can it wait?" Fox groaned. Falco scoffed and walked out.

Krystal stood quietly in the corner to watch. Rob patched up Fox's leg and offered him medication for the pain, and then he left them alone.

Fox took a deep breath as the meds began to set in. "We...should probably talk..."

Krystal offered a half smile. "I'm not sure you're in the best situation to talk."

"On the contrary. Pain medication tones down whatever stupid fears I have and tends to make be braver. Not gonna lie, occasionally it makes me really stupid. But... things need to be...sorted... before more things...happen."

She chuckled. "I'm listening."

"I, uh... I usually go with the rule that you shouldn't date coworkers. Causes problems, makes things awkward with other team members... but then again, it's been years since there was a woman on the team. It's been all men for a while and... I don't really swing that way." He swallowed. "Um... you... you're incredible. You saved my life today, and you kicked ass. You're beautiful, and smart, and amazing... and if it's okay with you, I'd like there to be a lot more of your lovely kisses in our future." He closed his eyes for a few seconds, feeling drowsy from the medication. "If it's okay with you..." He began, looking up into her eyes. "I'd like to have your kisses to myself... and... I'm kind of already yours, and I kinda really want you all to myself as well. And, you know, dates and stuff. What I'm... trying to ask, I guess... is if you would... maybe... want to be my girl? You know... go steady, date... that sort of thing."

She smiled at him, the kind of smile where her eyes themselves seemed to be smiling. She hesitated, just long enough to create a bit of suspense and tension. Her tongue wet her lips, and she took a breath before responding.

"Yes."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did some research and it seems that according with Star Fox timelines, Pigma left Star Wolf before Assault, but it's unclear exactly when. So I figured it could still make sense that he was with them. And yes, I know that according to the wiki, Panther REPLACED both Pigma and Oikonny. Hear me out: Oikonny is already gone, I can't imagine Wolf putting up with his whining for long especially since Fox just killed Uncle Andross. Again. I'm assuming they let Oikonny go and kept Pigma, but being on his last straw because he's a greedy disgusting shit, Wolf encountered Panther and got his replacement before he was down to just 2 members. Wolf is a smart fellow, I don't think he'd fire them both at once without a backup plan.


	16. Radar

"That's the most idiotic plan I've ever heard of. No wonder it didn't work. You should have come to me first."

He groaned, rubbing his temples with his fingers. "Hear me out, the diversion worked perfectly. I nearly had her, but my idiot brother-"

"Yes, blame the ghost who can't even touch things."

"He's getting stronger. He can stop the ghosting temporarily, now, and apparently stop time while he's at it."

The feline laughed. "Your excuses just keep getting worse and worse. Stop trying. We're going with my plan. You'll go to that party and win her over, get her alone, and then kill her. Kill her in her sleep, why don't you? That way she can't fight back."

He rolled his eyes. "He can still stop me."

"Oh, please. I don't even believe in ghosts."

"Besides, I've already put another plan in action."

"Oh, god. What did you do?" She demanded.

He stared at her blankly, and then a slow grin broke out on his face...

( **Earlier that day...** )

Krystal stretched out her limbs as her mind began to drift out of sleep. Her eyes fluttered open, and she blinked several times to adjust to the lighting. The clock on Fox's nightstand read 11:00am, synchronized by the timezone of the Cornerian Capital.

She rolled over to the edge of the bed and leaned off the side, grinning at Fox's sleeping form. He'd wanted her to sleep in his room, but didn't want to make her uncomfortable by trying to sleep in the same bed. Their hotel was still under repair from damage caused by looters during the power outage, so they opted to stay on the Great Fox and returned to orbit around Corneria.

She wriggled her upper body off the bed just enough that her lips could reach his, and planted several soft kisses there.

He moaned softly and stirred a bit. "Mmmm..." He wrinkled his nose. "Morning breath."

Krystal blushed, covering her mouth with one hand. "Sorry."

He smiled. "I don't mind it so much when it's you." His eyes finally opened. "I think this should be a regular morning routine. I don't think I can possibly have a bad day after being woken up like this."

"Don't jinx it." Krystal laughed. She started to scoot back, but instead began to fall. She shrieked as her upper body slid off the bed and onto Fox's chest. He reached around her waist and pulled her legs down as well.

"Hi there."

She blushed deeply. "Hello..."

He kissed her forehead and held her tightly against his body. "I like this..."

"Like what?"

"Knowing that we're together. That I can call you my girlfriend."

She smiled. "I... I like it too, Fox."

"I'm glad." He paused a moment. "Hey, you didn't have video games on your home planet, did you."

"Video games?"

He grinned. "Come on. I'll get the team together and we'll have a match."

It took all of five words to get the entire team to the game room: "She's never played video games."

Slippy had the system set up to the massive holographic wall screen in a matter of minutes, and he turned on their favorite melee game. It had only two dimensions of movement, but the limited space made the game more fun. The game was almost a century old, but it was a classic. Slippy had to engineer the connections himself in order to make the outdated game system compatible with the new screens, but to him and the rest of the team it was worth it.

Krystal caught on to the controls pretty quickly, and soon enough she wasn't losing.

Her and Katt teamed up to take out the rest of the team one by one. With the points settings on stock, everyone's five lives began to dwindle. First Slippy, then Fox, then Peppy. Falco was on the edge of his seat, knees bobbing up and down and hands shaking as he tried to fight off the two girls at once.

He finally lost. Everyone watched eagerly as Krystal and Katt battled it out, to 300% damage, then 400%. Each time one of the digital characters seemed about to die, they somehow recovered. Krystal charged an attack, just as Katt threw an item. The item was deflected by Krystal's attack and struck Katt's character straight off the edge of the map.

"This game's winner is..."

Krystal squealed and jumped up off the couch. "I won!"

The tension in the room ceased, and they cheered. The team congratulated Krystal.

Most of the rest of the day was spent playing different games. Slippy excused himself once or twice to check on the ship. Falco went for snacks each time he lost, which was more often than he would ever care to admit. There were no calls from General Pepper, and the team was in silent agreement that a day off was needed.

"Hey, I'm hungry. Who's down for pizza and a movie?" Falco said after a match of a shooting game was over.

"We've been eating snacks all day!" Katt whined. "There's gonna be no food left by tomorrow."

"I'm still hungry." Fox chimed in.

Slippy went to get a pizza out of the food storage, and Falco set up the hologram to connect with his SpaceFliks account.

"Hey, do they have that new horror movie about the intergalactic space spider?" Katt asked.

"Let me check." Falco searched for the movie title. "Quick-deliver only. I only have the insta option. You have to pay extra to have them delivered."

"Damn. No one wants to wait two hours for some stupid shuttle to bring you a movie, SpaceFliks. If you have the hard copy, just upload the damn thing. No one even uses hard copies anymore." Katt whined.

"They never have the one you want to watch on insta anyways." Falco sighed. "Let's watch something else."

They decided on a comedy, and Slippy came back with two large pizzas and a large bowl of popcorn. All of the food was devoured within the first half of the movie. Peppy fell asleep not long after the food was gone.

Afterwards, Katt mentioned needing a shower before bed.

"I knew I smelled something bad." Falco said in a teasing tone.

"I'll sock you in the face and you won't even see it coming."

"I'd like to see you tr-" The bird reeled backwards and stumbled unceremoniously to his rear.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Katt smirked.

He glared up at her, rubbing his jaw.

She laughed and left the room.

Falco picked himself up and helped Slippy clean up the gaming system. They left Peppy to snooze on the couch, keeping the light on for when he woke up.

Slippy went to the bridge to check on the ship again. Fox and Krystal wandered in, hand in hand.

"What's up, Slip?" Fox asked.

"The ship's sensors are acting up. It said someone opened the airlock today. But the radar also recorded a small ship passing close to us. It was cloaked, but the new software I installed can detect cloaking devices."

Fox frowned. "Think there might have been a break in?"

"I can't tell. We're in an asteroid belt right now, and one of them damaged our satellite dish. It went down about an hour ago, which means it would have picked up whether we had an intruder today. Unfortunately the satellite dish is on the outside of the ship. To repair it, someone would have to put on a suit and go out to manually fix it."

Fox turned to Krystal. "Are you up for it?"

"Me?"

"Yeah. I'm gonna do all the work, but you could come with me and watch."

"Oh. Well, alright."

"Slippy, do you know exactly what's wrong with it?" Fox asked.

"I don't think it's damaged. It's just disconnected. One of the asteroids knocked it loose. If it is broken you'll have to bring it in. If not, just reconnect the wires."

"Sounds good. Come on, Krystal. We've got to get suited up."

"Wait... we're actually going outside? In space?" She asked.

"Yep. We have suits to keep us safe and warm. It's freezing out there. We're in an asteroid belt where there's no sun for thousands of miles."

Her eyes widened.

"It's perfectly safe, so long as you don't float away." He winked.

They entered the docking bay and he got the space suits out of the closet. "We got one for you shortly after Pepper's first test. They're for emergency use, like if the ship is so damaged we can't get out alive any other way, or if external repairs are necessary. Like now."

"So, how do I use it?"

"Just put it on over your clothes. It'll conform to your body after you seal the helmet on."

Krystal slipped into the suit. "It's really thick material."

"It has to be. Otherwise you'd freeze or boil outside."

"That sounds pleasant." She said with a sarcastic tone.

Fox put on his suit and handed Krystal her helmet. He got two oxygen tanks ready, and clipped the harness for hers onto her back.

"Wow, this is heavy."

"It'll get better as soon as we get outside of the gravity field." He put on his tank and then connected the hoses to the helmets. "Put on your helmet now. We've got to make sure the oxygen, com, and displays are working."

He helped Krystal lock her helmet on, and the suit adjusted to fit better. It got quite snug, matting down the fur on her tail. Everything felt heavy, warm, and stuffy. She couldn't hear anything except her own breathing.

"Come on." Fox's voice came through the helmet. "You should see stats on the side of the helmet glass. Read them off to me."

She projected the images into his mind, being still somewhat unable to read in Lylatian.

"Oh... uh..." He blinked a few times. "Good. Follow me." He was carrying a tool bag and a few tethers. Inside the small airlock room, he took one end of a retractable tether from the wall and attached it to his belt. "This will reel us in and keep us from floating into oblivion." He then attached one end of a tether to Krystal's belt, and the other to his. "You're tied to me, so you won't go flying off." The third tether was short. He attached one end to his belt, and let the other one dangle. "This one is for when we get to the satellite dish, so we don't have to hold on to the ship manually." He went to the control pad on the wall and entered a code. "This takes out all of the air from this room so that we're not wasting oxygen. It also means we won't be violently sucked towards the door when it opens."

When the oxygen was successfully drained, the door automatically began to open.

"As soon as we get out the door, there won't be any gravity. The stabilizers only work on the ship, so hang on." Fox walked to the small hatch and climbed out. Krystal felt a tug on the tether, and followed him. The heavy, cumbersome suit was not a problem beyond the door. Krystal felt the weightlessness kick in immediately. "If you start to feel sick, let me know. The sensation of having no gravity can mess up your stomach a bit."

"It's dizzy."

Fox smiled. "You mean you're dizzy?"

"What?"

"Dizzy is a feeling."

"Oh. Yes, I'm dizzy. Sorry."

"If you get too nauseous, let me know."

"I'm alright. It'll take a minute of getting used to." Krystal stared at the surroundings. Asteroids floated casually by. Stars flickered in the distance. It was a lovely sight.

Fox tugged on her belt, lurching her towards him. She gasped, throwing out her arms.

"How do I stop?!" She cried.

He reached out his hand and grabbed her arm as she floated by. "I got you." He let go and she stayed put for a few seconds, but then slowly began to float away.

"I'm floating!"

"You're alright. We're tied together. You're not going anywhere without me." He climbed along the ship, tugging her along behind. It didn't take long to reach the problematic satellite dish. "It's disconnected. Slippy was right. But there's no sign of asteroid damage anywhere on the ship. The autopilot is pretty good at avoiding them. Slippy's rigged it to calculate the projection of the asteroids and steer accordingly to avoid them. The guns on the ship will blast any rock that gets too close. This looks deliberate. The dish isn't even damaged."

"Does that mean someone did this on purpose?"

"It looks that way."

"Why would someone want to do that?"

"The satellite dish is what enables our close range radar. If someone were to disable it, the proximity alarm wouldn't go off, and neither would the intruder alert."

"Does that mean someone's on the ship?"

"We'll find out." Fox pressed the com button to speak to the bridge. "Slippy?"

"Did you find what's wrong?"

"Yes. But there's no asteroid damage. It looks like someone disconnected this on purpose." The connector from the dish to the ship had been unplugged, so he picked it up and plugged it back in. "It's reconnected now."

"I have to reboot the system to make it work again, which means that all but auxiliary power is going down for a few minutes. It looks like we're clear of incoming asteroids for the moment so it should be safe. Get to the bridge so we can try and fix this."

Fox disconnected the short tether that held him to the satellite dish. "Wanna take the quick route?" He asked Krystal.

"What's the quick route?"

"Hang on..." He pressed a button on his belt and the long tether jerked him towards the airlock.

Krystal shrieked as the tether holding her to Fox jerked violently. Controlling her direction was impossible, and she looked to be flying straight towards a small asteroid. "Fox!"

He looked over his shoulder just as she hit the rock. It was just big enough to cover her gut and knock the wind out of her. "Sorry! Are you okay?"

She coughed a couple of times. "Thanks a lot." The tether continued to reel Fox in. Krystal looked down at her belt. "Fox! I'm disconnected!"

He turned around. "Alright, hang on. I'll come get you in a moment." He reached the ship and turned off the tether reel, then grabbed onto a ship handle and aimed towards Krystal. He jumped. "Brace yourself." He crashed into her, arms spread, and grabbed her tightly against himself. "You okay?"

"Yes."

"Don't let go of me."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

He pressed the reel button again, and they jerked towards the ship a second time. "We're almost there. You go inside first, so you don't float away."

They managed to get inside the airlock without further incident. Fox helped Krystal out of the space suit and examined the tether. "You'd think they'd make these more durable. One knock to the belt and it snaps? Seriously?" He scoffed and threw the tether on the ground. "Whatever. Let's go see what's up with the radar."

Slippy was still booting up the computers. "Every time they upgrade these it takes them longer to start up. They need to filter out some of the crap."

"This is gonna take a few minutes at least. You don't have to wait around if you don't want to." Fox said.

"I think I'll go shower." Krystal replied. "Tell me what happened when I'm done."

"Alright."

She walked down the hall towards her room. After arriving on Corneria the day before, her and Katt had gone shopping for new clothes for her and some furniture for her new room. A nice bed, a rug, and a dresser full of clean clothes awaited her. The vixen smiled at the thought, reaching into her pocket and feeling for the blue stone to make sure it was still safe. She opened the door and reached for the light switch.

As she clicked it on, there was a brilliant blue flash. A tingling surge swept through her body like a thousand tiny needles. The shadows in the room grew much deeper all of the sudden, and the dim light in the room seemed to shrink into a point. The vixen's hand seemed to be glued to the light switch. She knew that somehow she had to get away from it. With a great amount of effort, she pulled until she finally did wrench herself free.

Then, everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The rewrite of this chapter was finished during Christmas 2013, so, Merry Christmas.
> 
> This edit is being done in July 2017, so... happy sweat month.


	17. Shower

"What was that? The lights flickered." Fox turned around, staring at the ceiling.

"The computer's up again. It must have been a power surge of some sort. I'll check the source." Slippy typed a few things onto the keyboard, his eyes darting between several screens as he tried to determine the cause of the short. "It came from Krystal's room."

Fox stood up. "I'll check what happened. Figure out why the satellite was disconnected." He felt a bit uneasy, and walked at a quick pace to Krystal's room. He knew before he got there that something was wrong.

The door was open, the light was off.

And lying on the floor in the doorway was Krystal.

He quickly checked for a pulse and examined her for blood or broken limbs. Her pulse was weak and irregular, and her fingertips were singed. He scooped her into his arms and carried her quickly down the hall, through the bridge and towards the medical bay. "Slippy! Help me with her."

"What happened?!" Slippy cried.

"I don't know. I found her like this."

Slippy ran ahead of Fox and opened the doors for him. "Is she okay?"

"She's alive. I'm going to run a diagnostic, but I think she's been electrocuted." He set her on the table and started up the machines. "Her pulse is weak, but she's ali-..." He froze mid sentence, or so it seemed.

A soft hand touched Krystal's face. "I'll keep you safe, I promise." A blue glow surrounded her.

The energy flowed through her body, pulsing through her veins with her heartbeat as it grew brighter. It was warm, and the brighter the light grew, the hotter she felt until her flesh was burning. She opened her mouth to scream in pain, but no sound was made. She threw out her arms in a panic, violently throwing the energy from her body.

The man in the hood absorbed the shock and disappeared.

"...-ive."

She sat up with a start, immediately checking her body for burns. The pain was gone, and so was the glow.

"Are you okay?" Fox asked.

Krystal turned to Fox and nodded.

"What happened?"

"I...I don't know." She replied. "I tried to turn on the light in my room, and then..."

"The light switch must have been tampered with." Slippy commented.

"Hurry up with recovering that recording. We need to see who was on this ship and what they were doing."

"Sure thing, Fox." Slippy left the room.

Krystal sat quietly for a moment, staring off at a spot on the floor.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

She nodded absently. "There's something going on with me. I'm just trying to figure out what's happening."

Fox took her hand. "It'll be okay. I'm here for you, I promise. Tell me what's on your mind."

"This thing I have. The energy. It's not natural. I don't know what it's from. I don't know how to make it go away. I don't know how to use it properly. I'm dangerous."

"You haven't hurt anyone."

"Look at what I've done to your medical room!" She gestured to the walls.

"That's nothing. It's just some lousy machines. Whatever this is, I'll be here with you. I'll help you try to figure it out. I'll help you learn to control it. I'm not just going to leave you on your own. As far as anyone else knows, this is totally normal for your people. You're the last of them. You don't have to be some sort of dangerous thing. This could be normal for you and we would never know."

"But it isn't! It's not normal!"

"No one else has to know that. Besides, it's helpful. You can help people. You've saved people with this."

"Not only that... but if this is a thing of my people, then I am not the last."

"What?"

"I keep seeing them."

"Them?"

"The two men in cloaks. One's got red eyes and red energy, he's the one responsible for the power plant explosion. The other one has blue eyes, and blue energy. He's the one who keeps saving me."

"Your power thingy is blue, so that means you're good too. Go on."

"The red one keeps trying to kill me. The blue one seems to be trying to save me. But... they're brothers. I think. The blue one said they're brothers."

"Alright... so, a good brother and an evil one."

"Not just that. When I escaped from the bomb at the power plant, it wasn't by my own means. Someone carried me out."

"Who?"

"I still have to wonder if I imagined it. He just appeared, and the explosion was... frozen, in midair. He picked me up and carried me out the side door, and then he showed me how to make a shield around myself and disappeared."

"The guy who carried you out... he's the same one who saved me on Katina."

"He had mentioned that. I wasn't sure if you actually saw him or not."

"It was like you said. The explosion stopped in midair, and he just... appeared."

"I've got it!" Slippy burst into the room. "The records are recovered! I have the intruder's path on the monitor!"

Fox jumped up and ran out of the room. Krystal followed.

"Show me."

Slippy pressed a few buttons, and a layout of the ship appeared. The crew's holographic silhouettes were gathered in the game room. A dark figure entered through the docking bay and walked slowly to the bridge. He pressed a few buttons, and then went down the hall to the sleeping quarters. He found Krystal's room and stood next to the light switch for several minutes, fiddling with it. Then he left how he came.

"Did you get a shot of his face?"

"I can't. He was wearing a hood. And some sort of creepy contacts..." Slippy pulled up an enhanced photo from the ship's security camera.

"That's him! That's Cloaky."

"That's the same guy who made the broadcast before he attacked Corneria. Everything adds up. He's definitely after you." Fox speculated.

"I can't believe he was in my room. I feel... violated." She shuddered.

"I should probably fix that switch... I'm shutting off power to Krystal's room for now." Slippy said. He left the bridge.

"You can stay in my room tonight if you'd like."

"I think I'll take that offer. Thanks, Fox."

"I can't believe he was on our ship. Even Rob didn't notice him. It's a good thing that we set up our system the way we did. Most ships stop recording if the satellite goes down."

"I'm more concerned that his brother didn't warn me." She frowned. "I think... I think he was in the medical bay when I was unconscious. I vaguely remember his voice."

"We really need to upgrade the security on this thing." Fox shook his head.

"I think I was going to shower a bit ago."

"Yeah... You can use mine if you'd like. It's nicer than the other shower."

"You get your own shower but no one else does?"

Fox winked.

She smiled and walked towards the hall, then paused for a moment. She turned her head over her shoulder and gave him a half smile. "Would you like to join me?"

Fox's mouth hung open for several seconds. "Join you...?"

"You know... in the shower?" She winked.

His face turned red for a moment before the blood from his cheeks rushed to a more intimate area of his body. "Uh.. y-yeah, that sounds... great."

Krystal giggled. "I'll meet you in two minutes."

( **Meanwhile...** )

"He healed her."

"Yes, I noticed. You messed it up again."

"I thought this would work."

"Well you thought this would work." She said in a mocking tone. "And the last plan. And the one before that. How god damn hard is it to kill one stupid girl?"

He sighed. "Just hear me out."

She rolled her eyes and placed her fingers on her temples. "And then we have the stone and the kid to worry about. They're both missing."

"Forget him. He's pathetic anyways. He'll show his face eventually and when he does, we'll kill him." He took a deep breath. "I'll show up at that party, like we talked about. She'll be so shocked to see me, she'll probably forget all about Fox. I'll take her home with me, and when we're alone, I'll do it."

"And what if  _he_  stops you again?"

"I'll break every bone in his damn body."

"Good. You'd better hope this works. I swear to you, if I have to get involved..."

"You won't. I'll do it this time."

"You'd better."

"I will."

She stood up and crossed to where he sat. "Though I hate the idea of her wretched lips touching your body..." She planted a kiss on his mouth, and leaned to his ear. "Tell me you're mine."

"I'm all yours, my mistress."

"Take me.  _Show_ me you're mine."

He grabbed her lithe body and carried her to the bed, though not to sleep.

( **Meanwhile, slightly NotSafeForWork content...** )

Krystal stood nude in the shower, staring at the controls with her arms crossed. The handles were gone, replaced with a black pad.

There was a soft knock at the door.

"Yes, Fox?"

"Uh, did.. did you want me to...?"

"Come in."

He slowly opened the door, draped waist down in a towel.

"I can't figure out how the new controls work." She said. She gave him a sideways glance, and upon seeing that he was covered with a towel, she wrapped her tail around to her front.

"Oh, uh... it's easy." He leaned into the shower and touched the pad. The screen lit up with two sliders: one for pressure, and one for temperature. He slid the temperature to warm and then slid the pressure to 75%. "Is that good?"

"That's wonderful." She lifted her arms to brush her wet hair back from her face.

Fox quickly looked away, blushing.  _Oh my god, she's just... naked. She's there and naked. Should I just... get in?_  He nervously reached for the towel.  _What if she wants to... oh god I'm not ready for that. I haven't had a girlfriend in years. God she's so beautiful... Shit, stop staring!_ He turned around.

"Well, Fox?"

"Uh, yeah?"

"Are you going to join me?"

"I, uh..." He glanced partway over his shoulder.

Sensing his reservation, Krystal faced him and crossed her arms again. "Fox, you know you're not getting sex from this, right?"

"W-what? No! I mean, of course I'm not. I didn't expect-"

"Good, now that that's clear, are you coming or not?"

"Y-yes." He hesitated again at the towel.

Krystal gave an amused grin. "Fox, I've seen a naked man before."

"Oh, of... of course. I just, uh."

"I know what a man who's turned on looks like, as well."

His face felt like it would burst into flames. "Right. S-sorry." He shut his eyes tight and dropped the towel, then immediately opened them again to find his way into the shower.

Krystal kept the same amused grin and raised her brows just slightly at the sight of him naked.

"Shampoo?"

"Sorry?"

"It's... special soap for your hair." He bent over and picked up a bottle with Lylatian writing, then squeezed thick, translucent green colored liquid into his palm. He rubbed his hands together briefly to make suds, and then reached up to Krystal's hair.

She closed her eyes as his fingers massaged her scalp. He gently washed her ears and worked the shampoo into the ends of her hair. She smiled. "That's quite pleasant."

"It's good for tails, too." He poured a bit more of the green substance and stepped around her to massage her tail. He worked from the top base of her tail to the end, and then back along the underside. His hand brushed against her smooth behind and he flinched in surprise.

"May I?" Krystal asked.

He said nothing and handed her the bottle.

With a mischievous grin she massaged shampoo into his tail, starting around the base and working towards the end. When she was finished, she drew her hand back and, with surprising force, slapped his rear with a loud  _SMACK._

Fox yelped and jumped several inches away, turning quickly to hide the offended area against the wall. "Hey!"

"Oh, don't 'hey!' me, I caught that little feel you tried a minute ago."

"It was an accident!"

She laughed. "You can't fool me, Fox! I'm a telepath, remember?"

"B-but I'm not lying!"

She winked at him. He blushed. "Soap?" She asked.

"R-right." He handed her a bottle of body wash. "This is good for just... general body." He gestured to himself.

She poured a generous amount into her hand and handed him the bottle. He opened the cap to pour some in his hands, when suddenly her hands met his chest.

"Wha-...oh..."

She massaged soap into his fur, along his neck and shoulders, down his arms, and then worked down his abdomen. He flinched a bit as she got lower, but she spread to his thighs instead and knelt down. He swallowed nervously at the proximity of her face to his crotch. She rubbed the soap into his calves and then started on his inner leg. She worked her way up until she felt him cringe a bit, and grinned.

 _Boy, I could really just shock him out of his mind right now..._  She thought. Instead, she stood up and stepped around to his backside. She gently massaged his back for a moment, and then went back down for the backs of his legs. On her way back up, she couldn't resist the temptation to slide her hand back to his inner thigh and brush her finger against something that made Fox shriek and jump to the side, holding his legs together in defense.

She giggled. "Sorry, Fox. I didn't realize they were that low."

He cupped his hands over his crotch and looked at her with a suspicious gaze.

"Your turn." She held up the soap bottle with a smirk.

He poured a good amount into his hand and set down the bottle, still narrowing his eyes at her. Then, looking her straight in the eye, he lathered it in his hands and placed them firmly on her chest.

She stared at him in shock.

He gave a quick squeeze with his hands and then lowered them to her waist. "Oops." He said, maintaining eye contact.

Her mouth hung open in surprise, but she was speechless.

He gently rubbed soap into her belly, and couldn't help but crack a slight grin. He knelt down and rubbed along her hips and down her thighs, and then back up her inner thigh. Her chest rose in a light gasp as his fingers got dangerously close, but she kept her eyes locked with his.

He stood up and then switched to her back. She closed her eyes as he massaged her shoulders for several seconds. He worked tenderly down her back, and then jumped to her legs. His hands went up along the back of her thighs and slowed just below her rump. He paused for a moment to decide which spot to go for, as one alone would surely get him in trouble and both was not an option.

"If you so dare, you will not be joining me in your comfortable bed tonight."

He bit his lip.

"The choice is yours."

With a sly grin, Fox stood up and moved forward so that she was facing him.

She smirked. "Good choi-"

He cut her short with a hard kiss, pushing her up against the wall of the shower. His right hand met her stomach and slid downwards. A moan escaped her lips as he pressed his middle finger inside of her. Her body shuddered against him as he repeatedly pulled it forward, gently and quickly. She clung to his shoulders, digging her nails in just a bit. 

He kissed along her neck and slowly worked downwards with his lips, still fingering her.

"F-Fo-ohhh..." She groaned as he flicked his tongue over her clit. He then pressed his lips against her and sucked lightly, licking up and down. She leaned hard against the shower wall, struggling to hold her body up with her legs. The muscles in her thighs twitched uncontrollably as he moved his tongue. He slipped his free arm beneath her thigh, giving it rest on his shoulder, and used the opportunity to firmly grab her soft buttocks. "Oh, Fox.. I..." She moaned again as his ring finger joined the middle one inside of her, working vigorously for her pleasure.

Her body began to heat up as her gasps and moans grew quick and higher pitched. She gasped in deeply and her breathing paused. Her muscles tightened and pulsed around his fingers for several seconds, and then she exhaled and relaxed, panting.

He removed his fingers and stood up with a smirk. "Am I still sleeping on the couch?" He asked.

She narrowed his eyes. "Oh, most definitely you are." She put her arms around his neck and kissed him softly. As his body moved close, his junk brushed up against her leg. She reached one hand down and gently touched it.

He flinched backwards with a gasp.

She grinned mischievously at him.

He chuckled nervously. "Only fair, I guess." He glanced at the shower controls. "Are you ready?"

Her eyebrows raised and she looked at him with wide eyes.

"Uh, to get out! Of the shower, I mean."

She giggled at his awkwardness. "I am ready."

He blushed at her tone of voice and turned off the water, and they stepped out.

After drying off and getting ready for bed, Fox lay on his back, grinning smugly at the ceiling as Krystal turned out the lights and crawled into the bed. He pulled the folded sheet up to his chest and stretched his feet over the arm of the couch.  _Worth it..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I changed this chapter quite a bit. There was a large chunk that needed to be removed for continuity reasons, and I honestly didn't know how to make it any longer without bleeding into next chapter's content, and the next chapter is already short... So... enjoy a nice shower scene.


	18. Countdown

_BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP_

The alarm by Fox's bed blared it's angry tone. He groaned. A warm arm reached over him and swatted it off the dresser, where it crashed to the floor and continued blaring.

Fox reached over to the top drawer, eyes still closed, grabbed a compact handgun from under some papers, and shot the clock. He then set the gun on top of the dresser and rolled over to cuddle the warmth beside him, eyes still closed.

"We still have to get up soon..." She mumbled.

"I know...I just want a few more minutes with you." His hands caressed the soft curves of her body. He blushed a bit as thoughts of their shower the night before rose to his memory. Exploring her wonderful body and feeling her hands explore his was more than he could have hoped for. Of course, she had at first demanded that he sleep on the couch as retribution for his behavior. But after a couple of hours, guilt took over and she asked him to join her in his bed.

Her lips kissed him softly on the forehead. "It's going to be a busy day today. Time to wake up."

"I'm awake." He muttered, nuzzling her neck with his nose.

"Time to get up."

Fox inhaled deeply and let out his breath in a long sigh. "No."

"Yes!"

"Nope."

"Get up!"

"Nopey nope nope."

"Foooox!"

"Nopey nopey nopey nope."

Krystal thought for a moment before rolling out of bed. "Your loss."

"Hm?"

"I guess you'll just have to miss me getting dressed..." She said, slipping off her shirt.

Fox jumped out of bed, eyes wide. "I'mupI'mdefinitelyupwideawakeyeptotallyup."

Krystal smiled, covering her exposed chest with her arm. She gave him a quick peek and then turned away from him as she bent down to pick up her shirt off the floor.

His eyes went wide and his face flushed red.

She stood back up and glanced over her shoulder. At his expression, she realized she'd forgotten to cover her behind properly with her tail, and blushed.

"Uh..." Fox said, trying to quickly find something to say to make the situation less awkward. "The General left a message yesterday, and they've got the training grounds working again. So, he's expecting us to show up as soon as possible."

"Oh? Well, that would explain the obnoxious alarm."

Krystal pulled on her pants. "I'm going to get some clean clothes from my room."

"Right. Um, I'll start the process for getting us landed at Corneria." Fox got out of bed and put on a white t shirt and some brown cargo pants before exiting his room.

He got to the bridge, where Falco was waiting.

"You're up early?"

The bird could not hide a devious grin. "Who, me? Yeah, I guess I am."

Fox frowned. "What's that look for?"

Falco chuckled. "Foxie, you remember when Katt was here last time?"

The vulpine furrowed his brown in confusion. "Yes?"

"Do you remember... absolutely humiliating her and I?"

"What? What are you talking abo-" Fox trailed off as he suddenly noticed the laptop in front of Falco. His eyes grew wide in disbelief. "No... you didn't. How could you have even-"

Falco pressed a button, and through his laptop speakers played Krystal's lewd moans from the night before.

"N-no, that's not what you think!"

The avian laughed, playing the short clip on repeat.

Fox balled one hand into a fist and raised it to his mouth, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. "Falco, you have exactly to the count of five to delete that from existence. When I finish counting, if it's not gone, I will reduce your Arwing to scrap metal and hand it over to Slippy. One."

Falco kept playing it, looking at Fox. "Aw, come on Foxie. You did the same thing to me a while back. At least I have the decency to show it to you privately, instead of-"

"Two."

"I'm not gonna lie, I didn't know you had it in ya. Though, by the sounds of it, Krystal sure had it in her, if you know what I me-"

"Four."

"Hey, what happened to three?!" Falco cried.

"You missed it while you were talking." He paused for a second, glaring straight-faced at Falco, and took a deep breath to lead up to it. "Fi-"

"Alright! Alright, it's gone!" Falco clicked a few buttons on his laptop and the sound stopped.

"Did you delete it?"

"Aw, come on, can't I just keep it if I don't-"

"Fiiii-"

Falco swore. "Damnit, Fox! I can't ever have any fun." He clicked his laptop again. "There, it's gone."

"For your information, we weren't... we didn't..." Fox struggled with the words.

"So you're still a virgin, got it. That would explain why you're being so uptight."

Fox sighed in exasperation. "I had a girlfriend in college, Falco. You know this."

Falco snorted. "You know, your hymen will actually grow back if you leave it alone long enough."

Fox groaned in exasperation. "Just set us to dock at Corneria, will you?"

( **Some time later...** )

The Star Fox team rolled up in two separate cars to the military's training center. General Pepper stood by the entrance to meet them.

"It's good to see you all." He turned to Krystal. "I've been studying the videos of your tests and you seem to meet the requirements for the necessary licenses. There's just a few more required exercises to go through in order to obtain your official pilot's license and your weapon's permit. These exercises must be executed by you and you alone. No one can accompany you into the training room. I'm sure you'll do fine. Once that's done, you'll be allowed to  _legally,_ " he paused for half a second and gave Fox a knowing look, "accompany the Star Fox team on their missions for us."

"We are able to watch, though, right?" Fox asked.

The general frowned. "No one but qualified military personnel is allowed to observe in the control room." A grin tugged at his cheek. "But I'd say you are more than qualified with all you have done for the Lylat System. Follow me."

He led the team into the building and down a number of hallways, to a white door. "If you'll wait outside a moment, I need to have a word with your newest member alone." He stepped inside with Krystal. The room was small, with white walls and a white door on either side. The walls without doors were covered in silver lockers. "If I'm not mistaken... this one," he opened a locker and took out a dark grey suit, "ah yes. This one should be in your size." He handed the suit to her. "It has come to my attention that you fight quite well with your own weapon."

"My staff?" Krystal asked, blushing slightly.

"Yes. Unfortunately, we don't have the weapon registered. You'll have to make do with grenades and blasters today. However, it has also come to my attention that you have some extraordinary abilities. Perhaps you're not at a disadvantage after all. Take your time and come out to get us when you're changed." He exited to the team waiting in the hallway.

"So, what's going on?" Katt asked. "I don't remember seeing any of this when I graduated."

"Things were much different when you lot got your qualifications. The war on crime and crime's war on the world has escalated quite a bit. Licenses aren't just given away to graduates of the academy anymore. Once you graduate, you need to undergo more tests and quizzes and training. Now, obviously I'm not going to put Krystal into the 4 year academy program. She seems to be a very capable and intelligent individual. But in order to equip her legally with weapons and an arwing, she needs to prove on record that she knows what she's doing with them. I trust your judgement, Fox, and if it were up to me I would have already printed her qualifications. Unfortunately for you it's no longer just up to me, now. From what I've seen and heard, I'm sure she'll breeze through this. She shouldn't have been accompanying you to Katina. Don't think I didn't hear about that. She was flying unlicensed and escorted hostages to safety. These aren't things that a civilian is allowed to do. I managed to get rid of the rumors for you, but if this had gone on, you all could have gone to jail."

"Thank you, General." Fox said. "We owe you."

He waved his hand in dismissal. "You don't owe me anything. I owe you the safety of this entire planet, and I owe  _her_  my freedom. Just keep doing what you guys do best."

Krystal opened the door, dressed in the metallic grey skin suit. "What's this suit for? It's different from the last time."

"This suit is designed to stimulate battle. It's a bit more dangerous than the last suit. If you're shot with one of the lasers, it will stimulate the nerves where you've been hit and you will feel as if you have really been shot. The danger is that if you're shot in a critical area, your body will think you're bleeding out and you could go into shock. The point of this is, don't get shot in a critical area. It's not impossible. If you've got what it takes, it's not very difficult." He opened the door and escorted the team into the locker room. Then he walked to the second door and opened it. It led to a smaller rectangular room with a large, tall window and several computer monitors. There was a metal door across from where they entered.

"Find a place to stand. This is the observation room." He explained. He then opened the large metal door into a massive grey room. "The weapons and ability test is first, as you've probably guessed. The room will change in a few minutes. There's a spot about ten yards over there with a mark. Stand there and wait. The test will begin shortly."

"What exactly am I supposed to do?" She asked.

"Don't die." He winked. "Good luck."

The door closed, and Krystal was left alone in the vast empty room. She walked slowly to the center and stood timidly.

Fox watched eagerly through the window as Pepper turned on the computers. The system booted up, and he typed in a few codes on the keyboard. The room began to change into a snowy world. The walls changed color to give the effect that they did not exist. "Looks like Fichina," Fox mused.

Pepper clicked the comm button. "Krystal, there will be supplies lying around. A backpack and a standard gun will spawn for you in a few moments. You'll have to find other weapons. Killing your enemies will allow you to collect the weapons they drop. The object of this test is to save the base. Destroy the enemy and save the scientists inside the base. Good luck."

Krystal grinned slightly to herself, knowing exactly which weapon she was going to use.

The three screens in the control room lit up with footage of inside the room. Each screen showed Krystal from a different angle, so the team could see if enemies were on any side of her.

Fox crossed his fingers behind his back. Peppy had been spontaneously helping out with things around the base for quite a while, and the last time he went, Slippy went with him. They had discussed this in detail. Actual weapons were not allowed inside the training room, but Slippy had often wondered if he could write a program to insert a weapon that wasn't standard. Upon hearing that Krystal would be doing the tests, Slippy knew Krystal would do much better with her staff than with a gun. Slippy explained that while she couldn't take in her actual staff, he could probably duplicate her staff on a computer and install it as a new special weapon in the system.

He worked on the program overnight after receiving the message that her final test was in the morning, and then he put it on a small flash drive and had plugged it in while no one was looking.

The test timer began its countdown at 3.

While General Pepper faced the monitor on his right, Slippy, on the left, reached over to the main computer and pressed a few buttons.

2

Krystal took a deep breath to calm herself. She'd have her staff in a moment, right?

1

A proud smile crossed Slippy's face. He gave Fox a thumbs up.

Go!!


	19. Final Test

Stephen "Slippy" Toad was a mechanical and technological genius. He had majored in computer science at the Cornerian Academy after graduating two and a half years early from high school. After getting his "4 year" degree in a record 2 years, he took a short break from studying to work on programming. It was during that break that he realized he had a passion for engineering, like his father. He returned to Corneria Academy and studied both Engineering and Piloting, the latter alongside his childhood friend, Fox McCloud. It was during this time that Fox's father was murdered. They dropped out together to fight against Andross and exact justice for James McCloud's untimely death.

To say that something computer-related was impossible was just to issue a challenge to him. To say that something he had already done was impossible was just to heighten his ego.

"Impossible!" General Pepper cried, watching wide-eyed as Krystal grabbed an exact replica of her staff from one of the arena's weapon generators. He turned to Fox with a suspicious gaze.

Fox raised his hands in surrender. "Whoa there, don't go pointing fingers! We all know I'm the least computer-savvy guy on the team."

"I know you guys have done something to make this happen. I don't know what, but you'd better make sure it's not going to affect her ability to take this test, or anyone else's for that matter."

"Don't worry, General. I've calibrated the new weapon to fit the standard test requirements without being overpowered or underwhelming. The entire code is on an external drive, so when I unplug it everything will go back to normal." Slippy beamed.

The general sighed in defeat and turned back to the monitors.

Krystal was doing quite well with the first round. Mindless, low-level bogeys were spawning around her, and she was taking them out almost as fast as they appeared.

 _This is it?_  She thought, slashing through another empty suit. While it slightly hurt her conscience to shoot down actual soldiers, these were just apparitions. These she could "kill" with no problem. The suits they wore were red and white with full armored helmets to cover their faces. She was quite impressed that the computerized baddies seemed so realistic. They even gave resistance as she cut them down.

A blaster spawned a few feet away from her, and she picked it up. She charged a shot in her left hand while she slashed through two soldiers one-handed with her staff.

The soldiers stopped appearing for a few seconds. Krystal was hardly winded. She began to trudge through the snow of the Fichina-looking arena towards the base. About halfway there, she heard a noise. While it was much easier for her to mindlessly kill the fake bad guys, it was impossible for her to sense when they were appearing. Computer generated bogies did not carry thought patterns.

Three larger soldiers appeared.

They had white suits with forest green lines to define the helmet, arms, and legs. Krystal knew just by their slightly buffer appearance that these were stronger than the previous soldiers. She used her charged blaster shot to knock the closest one back, and then holstered the blaster and readied her staff.

The second soldier drew a gun and began to fire. Krystal ducked and raised the shield on her staff.

Nothing happened.

"Slippy! My shield!" She quickly rolled to the side to avoid the fire.

"Oh no! Sorry! There must have been a glitch with it. I'll fix this! I just need a few minutes!" Slippy said, taking out his pocket computer and turning on the hologram.

Without the advantage of her shield, Krystal was thrown off guard. She had to think of a new plan, and fast. She wanted to save her own powers for a last hurrah. In the moment she hesitated to think, one of them fired off a shot that grazed her forearm. "Ow!" She reached over to the burning feeling on her arm. The suit was unharmed, but the pain was very real.

She charged at them and swung her staff, knocking two of the guns flying through the air. The third one she stabbed through the gut. To her shock and horror, blood came gushing from the wound.

"You need to be prepared for when you're fighting against real soldiers on a battlefield, Krystal. The blood here isn't real, but one day you will be spilling real blood." Fox's voice came over the arena's speakers. "These soldiers are to test your ability to handle gruesome situations."

Pepper nudged Fox. "Quiet, this is a test. You can't go telling her how it works."

"Sorry."

By the time Fox had finished his first sentence, Krystal had taken out all three soldiers and left them in a bloody mess across the snow. Six more spawned. She took out the first with a charged blaster shot to the face. The helmet ruptured, leaving a mangled skull with charred flesh beneath. For the second one, she shot two fire blasts from her staff into his chest. The suit ripped open, and blood splattered on the ground. All the while, she had been moving towards the group at a slight jog. As they simultaneously drew guns, she pushed into a sprint.

Four soldiers left, all perfectly lined up as if in a queue to be killed.

She held out her staff, plunging it into the skull of the nearest soldier and driving it to the ground. With the momentum of her sprint, she pushed into the staff and vaulted into the air above the next soldier, drawing her blaster. She fired four shots directly through the visor of the helmet while swinging her legs above her head, simultaneously shortening the staff to bring it with her without losing momentum. Said momentum brought her feet downwards, and she caught the head of her next victim between her ankles and snapped his neck. She landed gracefully on her feet with a soldier's head still between them, and swung the extending staff broadside into the side of the helmet of the last soldier. As he toppled, she shot a fire blast into his face. The entire procedure took her all of three seconds.

Fox gaped at the monitor.

The closer Krystal got to the center base, the tougher the enemies became. The armor on the next set of soldiers was too strong for one or two blaster shots to pierce. Each soldier took several hits to take down. By the end of the wave, she had to stop to catch her breath.

"She's doing well." Pepper said. "I'm going to challenge her a bit." He pressed a few buttons on the control panel.

Krystal trod through the snow, panting lightly as she made her way towards the base. She used the staff as a walking stick. Her right arm was stinging again. She rubbed it gently, trying to push the pain out. The wound wasn't real, after all. It was just a trick.

The snow around her began to slide backwards. She turned around to watch as it all collected into a pile several feet away. As the pile grew, she noticed that it had legs. And then arms began to form, as well. The snow turned into ice, forming a massive monster.

Her mouth hung open. "You're kidding me."

As the ice creature gathered more mass, soldiers began to form around it. They spawned with guns and immediately began firing.

 _Come on. You can do this without your power. Everyone here beat this without some mystical energy bullshit. Don't let them see you lose control. You can do this._  She turn towards the control center and ran. There were always good weapons upgrades on the inside, right?

"Why is she running?" Falco asked. "She's gonna fail. She's gonna surrender, isn't she."

Fox shot him a death glare. Krystal reached the base and collected a missile launcher with 10 rounds and 5 proximity mines.

"She's pretty smart, birdie. I'd pay attention if I were you. Could learn something." Katt said. Falco made fists.

Krystal turned around and fired a charged blaster shot at the ice monster. It knocked a few small chips off of the impact point, but otherwise did nothing to hinder its lumbering approach. The foot soldiers were running ahead, firing their guns in Krystal's general direction.

"Slippy, how's that shield coming along?"

"Should work now, Krystal!" Slippy replied.

She charged a blaster shot and killed one of the foot soldiers. Three more appeared in its place. She shot down another one, and three more appeared there.

"So if I kill one, more appear. Great, thanks." She shielded herself from their fire using the staff to buy herself a moment of time to think.

Before they got too close, she lowered the shield and bolted straight for them. A laser struck her in the leg. She yelled in pain but kept running, limping slightly. Once she got close enough, she used the quake ability to knock back the soldiers.

While they were down, she ran to the ice monster. One giant leg came to the ground with a thunderous stomp, and she jumped onto the foot. Using the shortened version of her staff, she stabbed its shin and pulled herself up. A stray shot from one of the soldiers struck her in the back. She placed a mine inside the knee joint and then dropped down, groaning in pain.  _It's not real... it's not real!_

As the leg straightened, the mine went off. The lower half of the leg shattered. The ice monster was thrown off balance and fell to its knees. It began to gather snow to heal itself.

"Oh, no you don't!" Krystal ran onto the back of its calf and jumped up, using the hip joints to pull herself higher. She stabbed her staff into the back and then extended it, piercing the icy exterior and further damaging it. She then climbed up using the hole she'd created, balancing on its shoulders.

"Come on!" She cried, performing a quake on the back of the neck. The ice monster's head cracked off of its shoulders and rolled to the ground with a terrific bang.

Snow started to gather up again. Krystal screamed in anger and plunged the bottom of her staff down through the neck, clear into the chest. "Recover from this, you bastard." Holding the staff down, she activated the quake.

The force tore apart the ice, sending chunks flying in all directions. The part of the shoulder Krystal was on was flung into the air. She flailed as she fell. The inertia threw her scream back into her throat before it could even escape.

She closed her eyes, bracing for impact in the only way she could.

Instead, a soft body broke her fall. Arms wrapped around her as they tumbled from the force of her fall, protecting her.

They lay sprawled in the snow for a few seconds. Krystal turned to her rescuer, but he was gone.  _It was that man again, wasn't it?_ She climbed slowly to her feet, wincing in pain. The snow slowly deformed.

"I'll have to submit your results, but as far as I can see, you will pass with no problem." Pepper said.

Fox was still watching the monitor. He had noticed a small glitch in the tape. When Krystal fell, she had disappeared from one spot and immediately appeared several feet away, looking like she had tumbled for at least a few seconds. The others wrote it off as a glitch, but he wasn't so sure.

He also noticed her limping, and immediately jumped up to run to her. He ran across the empty arena, which had returned to its grey square shape, and took her arm.

"I'm fine." She said weakly. "I've got to give them credit though, it truly feels like I've been shot."

"The suit should reset in a moment. Hang tight." As if on cue, the suit beeped from the back of her neck.

Immediately the pain began to fade, but she was already feeling clammy and shaky. She felt her legs giving out, and grabbed onto Fox.

"Pepper! Help, she's going into shock!" Fox called. He lifted her into his arms and walked as quickly as he dared towards the door. Katt bolted through the door holding a small syringe. She reached them in a few short seconds.

"Quick! Set her down." She readied the syringe and plunged the needle into Krystal's leg. She emptied the green liquid, and then they waited.

The color began to return to Krystal's cheeks, and she looked up at Fox. "Did I win?" She asked weakly.

He smiled, and then leaned down and kissed her. "You did great." He said. He picked her up again and carried her out of the arena.

"She'll feel better in a few minutes. Her body thought it had really been shot." Pepper said. "While it may take a few points off for the damage she took, she did manage to survive without fatal wounds and the way she continued fighting through the pain is commendable. After this will be the piloting test, and then the accuracy test."

"Accuracy test?" Fox asked. Krystal was able to stand at this point, but still holding onto him.

"It's a new feature. Many of the soldiers we've hired in the past are poor shots, and as a result, we have more casualties than necessary in battle. This is designed to determine who is ready for combat, and who needs to practice and learn before being put on the field." Pepper said.

By this time, Krystal was standing on her own. "I feel much better now. I think I can handle the flying test."

She changed back into the casual clothes she had put on that morning; a plain grey t-shirt and some jean shorts. Pepper led the team down a set of hallways to another room. This room contained a large array of monitors, similar to the last one. The training room was much smaller, and contained only a standard military single-person fighter plane in the center.

The flyer was similar to an Arwing, with the subtraction of several features and designs that Slippy himself had invented. It was plugged into the wall and supported by several hydraulic mechanisms on all sides. Krystal had to climb up the poles to get into the cockpit. She took a deep breath and familiarized herself with the controls while the General set up the computers.

The test began.

"In order to pass the test, you need to collect all of the gold rings." Pepper's voice came through her comm. "There are twenty-four rings in all. The rings will gradually get harder and harder to get. Good luck."

"Twenty-four?" Slippy asked.

The general winked.

The grey walls around the vixen rippled into blackness and distant stars. The ship shuddered to life and began to move forwards. She tested out which control was for speed and which one was for steering, and then coasted towards the first gold ring. The second ring required maneuvering around a large asteroid. The third ring was moving slowly back and forth.

 _This is too easy,_  she thought. Just past the tenth ring, a grin broke out on her face. Five enemy fighters had appeared.  _Now we're talking._ She ended each one and then collected the eleventh ring. The twelfth ring was guarded by ten fighters. By the fifteenth ring, she was facing fifty enemies and a small asteroid belt. The enemies were relatively brainless, just flying past and shooting randomly. She was able to avoid most of them and get the ring.

It took her around thirty minutes to get from ring fifteen to ring twenty two. Her hands were sweating, making it hard to grip the controls.

Off in the distance, she spotted the last two rings. They were almost side by side and swishing back and forth horizontally, only lining up every few seconds. She narrowed her eyes and looked around the cockpit window.  _This is definitely too easy. Something's wrong._ She held the brakes, keeping the ship in place.

A fortress slowly materialized in front of her. Through the tunnel she could see gates that opened and closed, flames bursting out of walls, and lasers being shot. Enemy fighters materialized around and in the tunnel. Beyond the tunnel was open space, and then the rings. Off to the right, a large asteroid was barreling towards the rings.

"Krystal, if the asteroid hits the rings, you won't be able to collect them." Fox said through the comm.

Her eyes widened.  _It's a wonder they have an army at all._  She cursed under her breath, charging the cannons as she shot forwards. Two barrel rolls avoided most of the oncoming ships, and her charged shot knocked out two of the tunnel bogeys. In the tunnel, she overshot the entrance angle and smashed off half of her right wing. Cursing loudly, she burst through one of the gates right before it closed, and shot at the baddie on the other side. The next gate slid closed, and she slammed the brakes.

It remained closed for several seconds. She looked through the iron bars that made up the sides of the tunnel at the asteroid that grew ever closer to the rings. She checked her inventory. Two bombs left. She couldn't reverse the ship. The gate wasn't opening.

"I don't have time for this." She muttered aloud, launching a bomb at the gate. The front end of her ship was caught in the blast, catching fire.  _Some space effect. Fire doesn't burn without oxygen..._ She thought, scowling. She sped through the broken gate, fighting with her ship to keep it steady without the use of the right wing.

Ten baddies floated ahead, shooting random lasers. Fire shot out from her left, lighting up the left wing. She launched her last bomb at the enemies and hit the boost. The rings were slowly coming together. The asteroid was only a few feet away. They aligned halfway. She let the steering take her into a spiral, turning sideways as she sped through the rings. The edge of the asteroid scraped the back of her ship, damaging the fuel pipes.

"Land the ship at the space station before the timer runs out." Pepper said.

She took a deep breath, steadying the burning ship. "Oh, joy!" She turned towards the space station in the distance, and glanced over at the left wing. It was almost as damaged as the right wing at this point. It was a wonder to her that she could move the ship at all. She pressed the boost button. Something on her dash started to beep. She looked down. The timer had appeared on her dash, counting backwards from ten. She narrowed her eyes, aiming for the docking bay. The timer chimed away as she gripped the controls.

Five.

Four.

Three.

She shot through the doors and braked hard, causing the ship to slide sideways and then backwards. The back end rammed into a wall and and she switched off the ship with one second to spare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I was perusing the wiki again and I learned some things about Slippy that I now have to share with you all. Slippy and Fox were childhood friends, they took Piloting together at Corneria Academy, and when Fox's dad died, Fox PRESSURED Slippy to drop out with him. Slippy loves Fox so much, he's his best friend and like family to him and so of COURSE he dropped out to help Fox get revenge!
> 
> But Slippy, poor pure little frog, did not ever finish his schooling. He never mastered piloting and that is why he is always screaming and getting caught out by baddies in the games. He loves Star Fox SO MUCH that he never left to finish his degree. He didn't even get his degree in engineering either, and (headcannon alert) THAT IS PROBABLY WHY STAR FOX TECH IS WAY AHEAD OF CORNERIAN ARMY TECH, BECAUSE THEY CAN'T USE UNOFFICIAL TECH MADE BY SOME UNQUALIFIED KID EVEN IF THIS KID IS A FREAKING GENIUS AND HIS TECH HAS SAVED THE GALAXY. SLIPPY IS SO UNDER LOVED. HE CANT HELP HOW HE SOUNDS, HE'S SUCH A PURE HEARTED CINNAMON ROLL AND SO DEVOTED TO STAR FOX AND I LOVE HIM SO MUCH
> 
> Katt: Are you gonna be okay?
> 
> Me: ... I'M NOT CRYING, YOU'RE CRYING!


	20. Date

Krystal sat in her ship, panting lightly. Her heart was still pounding. The space station around her slowly formed into grey walls, and the wings on the ship returned to normal. She could feel herself trembling.

The cockpit opened, and Fox leaned in to check on her. "Are you okay?" He asked.

She nodded, at a loss for words. He took her hand and helped her out of the ship and to the floor, where General Pepper stood grinning widely. "I don't know whether I'm just a bad pilot or you've got a really small air force." Krystal said.

Pepper chuckled. "Neither. You passed the test when you collected the twentieth ring. I threw in the other four as a special challenge, to see if you could handle it. Of all the people who've taken that test, only four people have ever gotten to the last two rings, including you. The most recent was Falco Lombardi."

Falco smirked. "Sure, sure. You made it easier since I've taken it." Katt elbowed him in the ribs. He coughed. "Uh... good job, Krystal."

"Who's the other two?" Krystal asked.

"My father, and Slippy." Fox said. "Congratulations on beating me. I've taken that damn thing three times. The last gate always gets me somehow. Course, uh, now that I've seen you do it..." He winked.

She laughed. "Cheater!"

"Slippy?" Falco asked, staring at the frog incredulously. "Tell me I'm hearing things. How the hell...?"

"Yes, Mr. Toad here actually holds the highest possible score." The General said.

Slippy's face turned red and he faced away from the bird to avoid scrutiny. "I uh... I was just... having a really good day, er... that's all..." In truth, he had failed his first time through, shortly after dropping out of his piloting classes to join Fox in avenging James' death. He couldn't stand to see his best friend grieve alone, and so to ensure that he could be at Fox's side to support him, the ambitious amphibian wrote an auto-flight program that would cause the ship to find the rings by itself and efficiently remove all obstacles using the weapons available. He had only meant to pass well enough to get his license, but having failed before the tenth ring, he hadn't known about the bonus rings at the end. His program worked a little too well, gaining him a record high score.

General Pepper cleared his throat. "Now, if you'd like to finish up the precision shooting test, I'll get your paperwork in order."

The precision test was almost exactly what you'd expect; a room with a plethora of targets, and a badly calibrated gun. Krystal managed to compensate for the gun's bad calibration after missing the first few shots, and scored a solid three out of five stars.

Pepper remarked that she had successfully passed all three tests, and had her stand against the wall for a photo of her. A few moments later, he handed her a small square card with her photo that read "Mercenary License." In smaller letters it detailed that she had proven to be proficient in hand to hand combat, piloting, and gun accuracy.

"Don't lose it." Falco warned as they were walking out of the base.

"Why, what happens if I lose it?" Krystal asked.

"You have to pass the tests all over again, but they'll be twice as hard as punishment."

Katt shoved him towards a wall. "He's joking. If you lose it, you have to pay a fee to have someone look it up and reprint it for you. Just keep it in a wallet somewhere and you'll be fine."

"I haven't got a wallet." Krystal said.

"I'll hold onto it for you." Fox offered. "Until you get a wallet, that is."

Katt raised a brow. "That way you can't wander off too far, eh?" She winked. "I'll take you shopping again soon, Krystal. A friend of mine's throwing a big party in a few days, and you'll need a dress."

"That sounds fun." Falco said. "Are we invited?"

Katt shrugged. "She said to invite anyone. Just bring some drinks for the stock pile and you're good. She's postponed it like three times now, but supposedly it's actually on this time."

"What day is it on?" Fox asked.

"This Wednesday."

"Alright. We'll plan on it."

The team split up into smaller groups and took three separate cabs to head to their new hotel in order to minimize drawing attention to themselves.

Fox and Krystal took their own.

"Good job, on your tests. You did really great."

Krystal blushed. "Thank you, Fox."

"No, really. I'm really impressed. You were amazing."

She giggled. "Thank you..."

"I mean, wow. That flip thing you did was really ho-...how did you even do that? It was amazing." He stammered.

Krystal blushed harder and stared down in embarrassed silence.

"Hey, Krystal?" Fox asked after a few moments. The cab was almost to the hotel.

She looked up from examining her new license. "Yes, Fox?"

"Would you, uh... Would you like to join me for dinner tonight? T-to celebrate, I mean."

She smiled, blushing a bit. She knew immediately by his thought patterns that he wasn't asking her just to celebrate. "Well, if we're celebrating, shouldn't we invite the others?"

Fox looked down. "I was, uh... hoping it could be just us, actually."

She couldn't contain her grin, but managed to hold in a squeal. "I'd love to. That's very nice of you."

Fox helped her out of the car and they walked together to the lobby. "I have a place in mind. I think you'll like it. It's really nice. Wear something fancy. The food is incredible, too."

"I trust you."

He smiled. "Let's see... will you be ready in four hours? That puts our date at 8:30."

She raised a brow. "Date?"

His face burned red. "Well... That is, if you're okay with that."

She smiled coyly. "Do you want it to be?"

"A... a date?" His neck was getting warm now. "Well... yeah."

"Well, then ask me."

The front door slid open and in walked Katt and Falco. Fox gave them a sideways glance. "Now?"

She nodded.

Fox felt as if his face might just explode into flames. "K-Krystal, will you go on a date with me, tonight?"

Katt's face lit up and her jaw dropped in delight. Falco opened his mouth to say something, but Katt's elbow in his gut took the words from his tongue.

"Yes, of course I will, Fox."

The embarrassed vulpine turned to the front desk of the Luna Stone hotel to finalize their new rooms. After all the trouble with the Corneria Inn, they decided to change companies. Peppy and Skippy showed up finally, and the team scanned their hand prints at the desk.

They rode the elevator up in silence.

"I'll, uh, see you at 8:30?" Fox asked as they reached their rooms.

Krystal nodded. Fox practically dove through the door of his hotel room, melting of embarrassment and elation.

Katt grabbed Krystal before she could scan her thumb to the adjacent room. "Nuh uh, you're coming with me. We're gonna buy you a couple of dresses and you're gonna knock him flat on his ass."

"I was going to take a shower! I've been in combat all morning!"

"You can wash up at the mall. They have a spa. Come on!" The pink feline had dragged the protesting vixen into the elevator before she got the chance to struggle. "I'm paying."

The struggling stopped.

"Fine." Krystal sighed. "Are we really gonna be able to do all of this in four hours?"

"Trust me. I know the perfect place." Katt took out her pink phone and sent a text for a taxi.

A familiar black and white feline pulled his cab in front of the hotel and honked twice.

Katt gave him the address of a mall and sat back against the seat. "So... you guys are going on a date finally?"

Krystal blushed. "Not like we'd even had the time!"

"Sure, excuses." Katt winked. "I can't wait for this, honestly. You're going to knock his socks off. He's gonna knock on the door and then his pants are gonna fall straight to the lobby."

Krystal laughed and covered her mouth with her hand. "No, that wouldn't happen."

"I'm telling you. There's gonna be a hole all the way down to the lobby with smoke coming from it from the speed of his pants falling. And that's before you even open the door." Katt laughed. "I'm gonna have so much fun with you two. Remember all those times you teased me about your brother?"

Krystal gasped. "That was my  _brother_!"

"Yeah, well, Fox is like  _my_  brother!"

The blue furred girl gave the feline a playful shove. "Well, now you'll finally know how I felt!" She laughed. After a moment of silence she turned to the driver.

"You're awfully quiet today, Tom."

"Who, me? Oh, I just didn't want to interrupt you lovely ladies." His white furred cheeks betrayed a slight blush. "I uh, I don't believe we've met, miss." He glanced in the rear view screen at Katt.

"I'm Katt Monroe."

"Oh, but of course. I recognized you, from the Lylat War. You helped out Star Fox briefly, or so they say."

"They?"

"Oh, you've got fans, miss. There's a dark corner of the intergalactic net that has been trying to find you for years. You're quite a master of hiding."

Katt grinned widely. "Wow! What do ya know, you disappear for a few years and come back with a whole fan base!"

The cab stopped. "We're here. Shoot me a text when you need a ride back, ladies."

Katt leaped out and pulled Krystal with her. "Come on, hurry!" She pulled her through three different stores filled with racks of clothes and shoes, and after several rounds of trial and error, the women finally settled on two dresses for Krystal. One was strapless and solid black, made of a smooth, silky material. It hugged Krystal's body and cut off mid-thigh. "This is perfect for the party!" Katt had exclaimed in the store.

The second was the one she'd wear tonight. The top half was a dark violet color with shimmering sparkles. It had thin straps that smoothed into a low-cut V, showing off a sexy amount of her cleavage. It clung to her waist. There was a dark silver band in the shape of an elongated x over her abdomen. It wrapped around to her back,which was bare above the x cut. The front center of the x shaped belt had an obsidian colored gem in it. Below the silver belt was a flowing navy colored skirt made of thin material. Its uneven cut hung to her right ankle, but showed off part of her left thigh. Katt had squealed in delight when Krystal tried it on.

For both occasions, the girls decided on a pair of black stilettos with straps to hold them on. It took Krystal a few moments to get used to walking in them, but after the initial shock, she did fairly well.

The process of finding dresses took an hour and a half. Katt rushed Krystal across the mall, through heavy glass doors to an "all in one" salon and spa. The noise from the mall was nonexistent past the doors. Katt handed the front desk lady her credit card. "She's here to get a wash and get a makeover." She discussed packages with the nicely dressed man at the desk and they decided on a luxurious shower, facial, make-up, and hair styling.

The process took almost two hours. Katt squealed when Krystal finally emerged. Her eyes were covered in silver and dark purple eye shadow that matched the top of her dress. The mascara made her lashes look even longer than they were naturally, and the eye-liner bolded the shape of her almond eyes. Her cheeks shimmered under a soft pink tint of blush, and her lips were covered in dark red "kiss proof" lipstick. Her hair was in its usual style, except for two highlighted curls that fell in front of her cheeks. There was the addition of two strands of silver beads, and turquoise highlights in her bangs.

"Finally! My phone almost died. That would have been a disaster."

"I'm going to be late!" Krystal cried. "It's already almost eight o'clock."

"C'mon!" Katt sent a frantic text to Tom, who arrived just as they were rushing out the door. They dove into the back seat. "Move it, Tim! We're gonna be late!"

"It's... It's Tom..." The feline muttered in a dejected voice as he drove away.

They arrived back at the hotel at 8:12. Krystal rushed into her room with Katt nearly on her tail. She carefully got into the dress, and Katt cut off the tags and helped her zip up the back. Next she put on the shoes, and carefully stood up in them. Katt helped her pace back and forth, slightly shaky at first, but gathering her balance after a few minutes.

"You look perfect." Katt grinned. "I can't wait for the crash of Fox's pants going through seventy floors."

"Oh my gosh." Krystal blushed again. "That's not going to happen!"

"It so is. Wait for the crash. It's gonna happen."

Krystal stood, holding her cheeks. "Oh, I'm going to end up accidentally wiping all of this off my face."

"Don't worry. Corneria's the big city, remember? They've had years and years to perfect the formula for make-up that stays. It'll stay exactly as it is until this time tomorrow, and then it'll wipe off."

"That's good." Krystal buried her face in her hands. "I'm actually scared."

"Just wait for the sound of his pants. I'm telling you."

As if on cue, there was a loud crash in the other room. Krystal's eyes grew wide with worry, but Katt could barely contain herself. She managed to hold in the laughter for a few seconds, but after seeing the shocked look on the vixen's face she lost it.

"Oh my gosh, it wasn't his pants!" Krystal couldn't help but grin at the feline, who was now doubled into the fetal position on the floor, gasping for air. "Katt, someone could actually be hurt!"

Katt howled with laughter, rolling onto her back and slapping the floor. "It's the pants!" She heaved.

At that point Krystal couldn't help but laugh. "Katt!" She cried between breaths.

"You know it's true!" Katt took a deep breath and exhaled with a "phew!"

There was a knock at the door, and both girls resumed their hysterics.

"I have to get the door!"

"Pa-pants!" Katt managed. She was laughing so hard at that point that she was making no sound. She gasped for air and struggled to calm down so that Fox wouldn't notice her presence.

Krystal hushed her and opened the door, still grinning. Her eyes immediately darted downwards to check on the actual status of Fox's pants. His legs were covered in black slacks, and his torso clad in a white button down shirt with a black blazer. At the collar of his shirt rested a neatly knotted dark purple tie that hung down to his belt.

"Hello..." Krystal said, blushing lightly.  _My goodness... he's gorgeous._

Fox's jaw hung open at the sight of Krystal. His eyes slowly drifted over her dress, down to her shoes, and back up. "Wow..." He flushed red with the realization that he'd spoken out loud.

Krystal looked down shyly.

"You're absolutely stunning." Fox said.

From off in the distance, hidden behind the door and part of the wall's corner, came whispered words of wisdom and comfort, "Paaantssss..."

Krystal clamped her hand over her mouth and emitted a squeak. She closed her eyes tight, as if not seeing him would help.

"S-sorry.." Fox hadn't expected her to laugh. He suddenly felt incredibly awkward and out of place.

"No! It's not you! Katt's behind me making jokes, and I..." She laughed. "I'm sorry! You look... amazing. I'm so sorry, I'm not laughing at you, I swear!"

Fox grinned a little. "Katt's here?"

Krystal opened the door all of the way and turned around. Katt was leaning against the wall snickering. Her face straightened immediately at the sight of Fox's deadly glare boring into her soul.

"Shall we?" He offered out his hand to Krystal, assuming a more pleasant facial expression as she turned back around. She smiled and reached out her arm.

"Just make sure the door's shut when you leave, Katt." She called over her shoulder.

"Have fu-un!" Katt called.

Fox held Krystal's hand tenderly in his. He led her to the elevator. "You really do look amazing."

She blushed. "Thank you, Fox."

They walked out to the front of the hotel where a black car was waiting. Fox opened the door for his date, and then circled to the other side. He folded his hands in his lap, too shy to hold her hand again.

"I mean it, though." He said after a few moments. He had hardly taken his eyes away from her. She was looking out the tinted window of the car, admiring the scenery of the city.

"Hm?" She turned to face him.

"You... you're absolutely dazzling." He swallowed his nerves and maintained eye contact with her for several seconds.

She smiled. "You're not so bad yourself, Fox."

He offered her his hand, and she took it. His thumb gently stroked hers. She looked down at their hands, intertwined at the fingers, and couldn't help but think of their night together in the shower. Her heart began to race just thinking about it. She had not expected him to suddenly be so bold as to pleasure her in that way, and without expecting anything in return. And my, what pleasure indeed. She bit her lower lip and closed her eyes in attempt to drag her mind elsewhere. Her mind adamantly refused to budge, instead lingering on the question of what else he was capable of.

Her blue eyes opened again, looking around the car in attempt to distract her from such thoughts. This was definitely not a taxi. The interior was much nicer than a standard cab with smooth, black leather seats and tinted windows. It must have cost a fortune to rent something this nice, with these nice seats.

Her mind drifted again to wonder what it might be like if he were to roughly make love to her on the aforementioned seats. Her cheeks flushed in embarrassment as though he knew what she was thinking about. She gently prodded his mind, just to be sure.

_...hope she likes their food. I wonder what she's going to order. Should I get champagne? Yes, I think I will. It's supposed to be a celebratory date, after all._

She exhaled in relief a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.

Fox suddenly jumped out of the car, leaving her stunned in the backseat.  _What in the world is he doing?_

He took two steps towards the trunk and vaulted onto it, sliding sideways across the back end of the vehicle, much to the driver's chagrin. In little more than an instant he was at the other side to open the door for his date. He bowed and offered his hand for her to step out.

 _Oh... we're already here._ She smiled and gratefully accepted his hand, using it for balance to pretend she knew how to walk in high heels.

They walked into a tall skyscraper with a mostly empty marble lobby and stepped into the elevator. Fox pressed the button for the top floor. , overlooking tons of city lights on one side, and a lovely dimly lit garden on the other. The restaurant itself had large glass windows and rotated slowly, so that no matter where you sat you would get a chance to view every angle of the city view.

The hostess, a young tiger, led the couple to a table for two next to the window.

"Can I start you off with anything to drink?"

"I'd like a bottle of champagne, please."

"Which champagne would you like?" The hostess named off three different brands. Fox chose the third one, a moscato, before she could continue.

Krystal had never been to a restaurant before. Her brother had spoken of them when she was young, but this was her first time experiencing it for herself. She looked around, taking in the atmosphere. She could smell the food cooking from the kitchen, and her delicate ears could hear silverware clinking with plates and idle chatter from other customers. The mood she sensed from the people around her was pleasant, satisfied.

Most of the people in the dining room were dressed to the nines with sparkly dresses and well tailored suits. Her and Fox fit right in with them. She carefully watched the way they ate. For most of her life, she'd just eaten food with her fingers. But here, everyone used the metal tools called silverware that were rolled inside the cloth napkins. The spikey one - which she later found out was called a fork - was used to bring the food to her mouth. The small knife was used to cut things, but only when the food was held down with the fork. The solid, cup-like one was used for soups, but not for drinks. Her people simply treated bowls like cups, drinking the hot liquid right from the dish. It didn't seem too complicated, but it still felt somewhat unnecessary.

Her eyes drifted around the room and back to Fox. He was staring at her with a slight grin. She flushed, suddenly afraid that he had been reading her mind somehow. "Why are you looking at me like that?" She asked.

"Because, you're beautiful."

She covered her blushing face with her hands. "Thank you, Fox.."

"You're...you're welcome." He finally tore his eyes away from her and down to the menu.

Krystal read over the options. Her reading wasn't the greatest, and there were several words she had never heard of before, like "filet mignon," "tiramisu," and "sauteed." She had gotten fairly well at translating Lylatian words she didn't know the meaning of into the Cerinian tongue, but even in her own language these words made no sense.

She settled on something under the category of "pasta." The description was mouthwatering.

_Penne noodles cooked to al-dente perfection, drizzled with a garlic butter sauce and mixed with sauteed mushrooms, asparagus, sundried tomatoes, and grilled fowl meat. Whatever it is, it sounds delicious._

Fox decided on a rib-eye cut of red meat.

The waitress, a short mouse with neatly tied back blonde hair, arrived holding a bottle of sweet champagne and two glasses. "Good evening! My name is Sara. I'll be your server tonight." She set down the bottle and used a contraption from her apron to open the cork without shooting it across the room or spilling any. She then poured a third of a glass for both of them. The golden liquid fizzed up with white foam in the glass almost to the brim.

The woman read off the specials for the evening as required of her by the management, and then she took their order and walked away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... naughty things definitely happened in that shower. Though, Fox has confirmed that they did NOT have... uh... relations.
> 
> Fox: You write smut for fun and you can't say the word?
> 
> Me: You're one to talk. You had her naked in the shower and you couldn't DO the word.
> 
> Fox: ... that's... different... -walks away with a dejected look-


	21. Con

The dinner was fantastic, as Fox had predicted. The pasta was cooked to perfection, and Fox's rib eye was fibrous, flavorful, and wonderfully pink in the center, the way he liked it. Between the two of them, they finished the entire bottle of champagne and ordered another four glasses each. The evening was spent with pleasant conversation, learning about each other's good memories and making jokes back and forth.

By the time they left, Krystal could hardly stand up on her own. She stood from the table, forgetting about her shoes, and stumbled into Fox's arms.

"I'm so sorry!" She cried. "It's the shoes. I'm not used to them."

Fox slipped his arm around her waist. "It's alright. You can lean on me."

She smiled and let out a giggle. "If you insist..."

He turned and planted a kiss on her forehead. They climbed into the backseat of the car, and Krystal leaned into Fox's arms and closed her eyes. He leaned down and kissed the top of her head. The ride back seemed ages quicker than the ride there.

He opened the door for her and helped her up, and then put his arm back around her waist. With her high heels she was about an inch taller than him, but she had taken them off in the car. They dangled from her fingers.

She opened her hotel room door, and then turned to face him, still held in his arm.

The alcohol in Fox's brain dulled his nervousness. Without hesitation, he took her face in his hand and kissed her passionately. The pressure he applied with his body pushed her backwards, into her room. The door closed automatically behind them.

Her back pressed against the wall and she wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing back deeply. His hands slid from her waist to her back and he pulled her body against his, simultaneously pushing her harder against the wall. Her leg slid through the slit in her dress and up along the outside of his leg. He grabbed her thigh in his hand and pulled her knee up to his waist, letting slip a soft groan as her body pushed back against his. His lust for her rose with a quickness, and she sensed it. She rolled her hips forward, grinding up against his bulge. He broke away from her lips and began to kiss down the side of her neck, simultaneously sliding his hand up along her thigh. She threw her weight to that leg, lifting the other one around his waist. He caught her leg with his hand and slammed her against the wall to keep from dropping her.

In the midst of their passion, a faint memory bubbled up in the back of her mind. Not quite a full memory, but a still image of being pinned naked against a wall in nearly the exact position she was now.  _That's never happened before... has it? But, wait... I've been with a man before..._ The thought troubled her. For her life she could not remember an instance where she had lain with a male, or the man she would have done so with. Yet, somehow she held the undoubted belief that she had. The image in her mind was frozen; she could not see his face nor remember any event immediately before or after that one instant.

The thought troubled her. Could she honestly lay with Fox without knowing if she had done so with someone else? She pressed her hand firmly against his chest, and despite his fervent desires, he immediately dropped her legs and stepped back from her. "I, um... I think we should say goodnight."

"Did I do something wrong?" He asked, picking up on the concerning tone in her voice.

"No! I... I quite enjoyed my evening with you." She smiled.

He kissed her forehead and pulled her into a long hug. When he finally let go, he kissed her cheek and then her lips. "Goodnight, Krystal."

"Goodnight, Fox." She shut the door behind him, heart pounding. Her body was already regretting her decision to cut the night short, but that fraction of a memory was nagging at her mind. As much as she wanted him to lay her on the nearest flat surface and have his way with her for hours, something wasn't right.

Her shoes were unceremoniously flung onto the floor in frustration and she went to take off her dress, only to realize she couldn't find the top of the zipper behind her back. She took a long breath and paced across the room.

There was a door adjacent to his room with a scan pad on it. She put her hand on it, and the door opened to reveal a wall. Upon closer inspection, she realized it was the back of another door, but there was no handle.  _It must only open from the other side._  She bit her lip, hesitating, and then knocked softly.

Fox had taken off his pants and began unbuttoning his shirt when he heard a soft tapping noise. He froze. It had seemed to come from the other side of the door that led to the next hotel room. He walked over to it and held his ear next to it.

_Tap, tap, tap_

He pressed his hand to the black pad. It scanned his prints with blue light, and then clicked. A silly half-grin appeared on his face as he saw Krystal through the crack. He opened the door a little more.

"I need help with my dress." She said, blushing.

Fox twirled his finger, motioning her to turn around. He gently took the zipper and pulled it down along her spine. As he let go, the back of the dress fell open down to her tail and the straps on her shoulders slid down her arms. She folded her arms against her chest, holding the front of the dress up.

"Thank you." She said over her shoulder.

Fox stood by the door, watching her as she began to close hers. She grinned slightly as her eyes drifted along his unbuttoned shirt and paused at his boxer-briefs. They lingered at his crotch for an extra second. Somewhat reluctantly, she closed the door.

They both stood on the other side of their respective doors for several seconds before finally moving to get ready for bed. Krystal was still feeling quite tipsy. She carefully got out of her dress, leaning on the counter for balance, and placed it neatly on one of the stools. Then she went into the bathroom to brush her teeth.

Fox finished undressing, tossing his suit in a pile on the floor. He ran his fingers through the fur on his head, and then opened the mini-fridge. There were six beer cans inside. He picked up one and opened it, and then went outside on the balcony. The night air was crisp but calming. He wrinkled his nose at the taste of the beer, but welcomed the drunken feeling that lingered. His mind was playing the last several minutes over and over again on loop, trying to figure out what exactly he'd done to make her shut down so suddenly.

Krystal put on a white t-shirt with a  _Keep Corneria Green!_  logo from her shopping trip with Katt and paced around a few times. The alcohol was beginning to wear off. She opened the balcony door and inhaled deeply, and a cool breeze drifted in. She stepped out into the cool night air and stared at the millions of city lights.

Smog was not a problem in most areas of the city. Special air filters were in place to keep the air crisp and fresh at all times, and there were many designated areas where vegetation thrived with the sole purpose of producing clean oxygen. Even with the bright lights from below, hundreds of stars were still visible to the naked eye.

Fox had heard her balcony door open, and looked over. He watched her step out into the slight breeze. He blushed a bit, as she was only in her panties and a t-shirt; but then he was only in boxers.

She looked up at the stars, searching for peace, but frowned slightly. It had never occurred to her that travelling across the galaxy would change the way the stars looked. She hadn't even realized before now that it made a difference where they were in the sky. It began to settle in just how far away she was from home. She had climbed on a space ship with a group of strangers, and just been whisked away across the universe.

Fox watched her face fall.  _She must be thinking about something serious,_  he thought. He had the sudden urge to run to her side and hold her in his arms, and to try to fix whatever was making her beautiful smile go away. Here she was, a girl he'd barely met a few weeks ago, spirited away across the galaxy to join him in saving the world. He admired her bravery.

Krystal nearly panicked at the sudden realization of how far away she was from anything familiar, but the comforting presence nearby calmed her. She knew she could trust him, even if she hardly knew him. He barely knew her, but the first thing he'd done was risk his life in a perilous journey to save her. He wouldn't let any harm come to her. Even in the face of a masked villain trying to kill her, having him by her side gave her the courage to be unafraid.

Her thoughts returned to the strange memory - if she could even call it that. The details were fuzzy, but the room seemed familiar.  _Is that... my brother's cabin?_ She thought. Long ago on her home planet, her brother had build a cabin in the forest, away from the village and prying eyes. Its purpose was for him to work on new inventions uninterrupted and for the two of them to have a safe place to hide when their father was particularly angry. With the frequency that he was gone, it would make sense that she would use his cabin to bring a man home. But who?  _Tony?_ The thought was incredulous. She had loved him, once, but the thought of having slept with him didn't feel right at all. This only confused her further. Every thought into the situation seemed to contradict itself.

"Lovely evening, huh?"

She gasped in surprise, turning to the vulpine on the balcony adjacent to hers.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you."

"No, it's alright." She smiled. "I'm glad it was you, and not that terrible hooded man." Involuntarily, she shuddered.

Fox hesitated a moment. He eyed the gap between the balconies, set his beer on the floor, backed up a few steps, and then ran forward. He used the chair and table as stepping stones, then pushed off of the railing with his foot and jumped. The gap was too wide for him to make it clear over the other railing, and he caught it with his hands and stomach with a grunt.

Krystal screamed. "Fox, what are you doing?! You're going to get yourself killed!" Using his arms to support himself, Fox swung over one leg, and then the next. "That's so dangerous! You know there is a door, right?"

"I just saw you here, and you looked so... you just made me want to do this." He pulled her into his arms and held her against his chest.

She wrapped her arms around his torso and buried her nose in his shoulder. "Fox... Don't do things like that. You could have slipped."

"Nah." He kissed the top of her head. "I know what I'm doing. Don't worry."

"You're not going to jump back across, right?"

"I'll use the door, if it makes you feel better." He said.

She smiled. "It does."

"Good." He squeezed her gently. "Speaking of that cloaked bastard, have you seen him again recently?"

"Not since Katina. It makes me worry. His silence is..." she paused to find the right word, "...unsettling."

"He could be planning something. I want you to be extra careful. Tell me if anything strange happens."

"I will, Fox."

"I'll talk to the General about hiring some bodyguards."

"No, that's alright. I don't want them to have to babysit me all day."

"I want to make sure you're safe. They'll just stand guard outside your hotel door, in case Cloaky tries to make a move during the night."

"No, it's not necessary. Really. I have you, don't I?" She stepped out of his embrace.

"But I... I couldn't save you in the fire."

"I have this." Krystal held out her hand and created a small shield. "And the brother, too. Cloaky's brother seems to want to protect me."

"Right, him." Fox's voice took on a strange tone.

"Fox?"

"What is it?"

"The way you said that. Is there something you want to tell me?"

Fox sighed. "Back on Katina, I told you he got me out of the building, right?"

"Yes."

"I asked him why he was doing this, and he said..." He shook his head and sighed again. "Never mind. I'll just tell you some other time."

"You can tell me." She placed her hand on his arm.

"He said..." The vulpine hesitated a moment longer. "He said the reason he saved my life is because he's in love with you."

Krystal took a step back in shock. "In  _love_  with me? I don't even know who he is. I've only ever seen him a handful of times."

"Yeah, which makes me wonder. Did he know you from somewhere else?"

"I don't know how he could have. The only person I ever knew was in love with me died over a year ago."

Fox shrugged. "He said he loves you and he wants you to be happy, and that he's supposed to protect you. He said that because I'm also protecting you, it was in his interest to keep me alive as well. But who knows. Maybe he's lying."

"Why would somebody lie about something like that?"

"I don't know. Maybe I said it to make myself feel better." He offered a half grin. "I don't know how I feel about some time stopping hooded guy being in love with my girlfriend."

She smiled. "As far as we know, he's on our side. He has saved my life several times, and now yours. I just wish he could tell us how to stop his brother."

"If you see him again, ask him. We need some answers. This keeps getting more serious. A death threat is one thing. I've had hundreds of thousands of those myself, but this guy has actually put together really complicated plans to try to kill you. That's part of why I suggested bodyguards."

"Do you really think bodyguards would help? If he really wants me dead, I don't think two men standing outside my door are going to stop him."

"But they could slow him down and give you time to escape."

"Slow him down? These are lives you're talking about. I'm not just going to throw someone else's life away to protect my own."

He sighed. "When you put it that way, I can't argue."

"What other way is there to put it? That's exactly what it is. I can't do something like that. I could never do something like that."

Fox leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "I just want you to be safe. I don't want anything to happen to you. For a few seconds at the power plant, I thought you had died." Sudden emotions welled up in his chest at the mere thought of it. "I never want to feel like that again."

"I'll be alright, Fox. I've got mystical powers and a person who can stop time on my side. Not to mention, the most feared mercenary in the galaxy as my boyfriend."

Fox frowned. "Who is this mercenary? Why wasn't I informed?" He slammed his fist against the balcony rail in mock-anger. "Damn him!"

Krystal giggled and kissed him softly on the lips. "I'll be alright, Fox."

He wrapped his arms tenderly around her and held her for a short moment. "We should probably actually go to bed now. It's getting late." He walked with her to the door that led to his room and opened it. He'd left his side open a crack, just in case she needed something from him. "Goodnight, Krystal." He kissed her.

"Goodnight, Fox." She closed the door.

"So, you know."

She gasped, turning around to face the cloaked figure. Relief flooded her veins at the sight of blue eyes. "Is it true, what he said?"

He nodded. "Every word of it."

She stared at him for a few seconds. "Who are you?"

"I told you, I can't tell you."

"Please, tell me."

"You won't remember me anyways."

She frowned, thinking of the botched memory that had surfaced. Suddenly her curiosity spiked.  _Did he have something to do with it?_  She wondered. "If you love me, if you really love me, then tell me who you are."

He hesitated, seeming torn. "I can't... if you know who I am, you'll know who he is. And then he'll know I told you. He'll kill you."

"He's already trying to kill me."

"Don't give him a reason to try harder. They're planning something."

"They? Him and the white girl?"

"Yes. The previous plans were last minute thrown together messes that he tried to execute. The two of them really don't work that well together. This time he's going to come after you himself."

"Then let him. I don't care. If you love me, then tell me your name."

He turned around and walked towards the kitchen, searching for an answer for her. There was a label on the top hinge of the fridge. "Con." _  
_

"Con?" She followed his gaze to the _Continental_ label. "You just got that off a label."

"Did I? I thought you asked for a name."

"I asked for  _your_  name."

"Con is my name, now. You can call me Con. And if you do figure out who I am, what my real name is... you'd do best to keep it to yourself."

"Was that a threat?"

"He is relentless. He's been gathering power from that blue stone I gave you for months." He grimaced, placing his hand over his stomach and leaning over a bit in pain. "When he comes... don't say I didn't warn you." He vanished, leaving Krystal alone in her room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had someone ask me recently why Krystal and Fox haven't actually... done the deed. I wasn't sure how to answer that question, but now I am. The plots are finally working together and making some sense to me. I can only hope they're making sense to you as well...


	22. Apology

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Adult Content

Kattarina Monroe stretched her arms above her head as the sun pulled her out of her slumber. She arched and dipped and twisted her back, rolling onto her stomach and raising her tail into the air as she yawned. She then stretched her leg muscles by straightening them below her and burying her nose in her knees, nearly folding herself in half.

After her stretching routine, she hopped off her bed and walked into the bathroom. She brushed her teeth, washed her face, and brushed her long pink hair. The pink color was starting to fade from her fur again revealing the dull grey color of her fur. She scowled and went into her kitchen to get breakfast. Her mouth spread into a delighted grin at the sight of eggs, and scrambled them in a few short minutes. She popped two slices of toast in the toaster while the eggs were cooking, and scooped everything onto a plate when it was done.

As neat as having instant food available was, sometimes Katt just enjoyed cooking herself a nice, hot meal.

She walked across her room, clad in a cute cropped t-shirt that showed off her midriff and neon pink lace panties, and sat down cross-legged on the floor in front of the couch to watch TV. She flipped idly through the channels, looking for anything that might be remotely interesting. After about ten minutes of not finding a single watchable program, she turned it off and got up.

There was a soft knock on her door. She paused, and after a few seconds there was another knock. She went to the door and activated the camera, revealing the face of Falco. "What is it?" She asked.

"Can I come in?"

"What for?" She asked dryly.

"I just want to talk to you."

"I'm not dressed."

"Well, then put on some pants."

Katt scowled. "I don't feel like it."

"Just let me in. It's not like I haven't seen you in your underwear before." Falco sighed, feeling impatient.

Katt hesitated for several seconds. Against her better judgement, she pushed her thumb against the pad and held the door open a crack.

"Can I...come in?"

"No."

"Please? I need to talk to you."

Katt stared at him for a good ten seconds before she finally stepped out of the entryway. "About what?"

Falco stepped in and latched the door behind him. "I want to start off by apologizing. What I said to you before you left, it just... it's never left my mind, and I feel awful about it. None of it was true."

"It took me a while to get over it, but I am now. I realized I'm better than that."

"You are, Katt. You're amazing. I was young and stupid, and I didn't know how to treat you. I'm asking you to give me another chance."

"Another chance at what?"

"At you. At making you happy." He reached for her arm. "I treated you so badly. You were always so nice to me, and I just... I threw that all away, and not even for a good reason."

She pulled away from him and crossed her arms. "All right, who put you up to this?"

"No one."

"Fess up."

"I did. I put me up to it. You deserve an apology. You haven't been nice to me at all lately, and I absolutely deserve that. Fox told me how shitty I'd made you feel. I didn't even realize it until the day you left."

Katt raised an eyebrow at him. "So, Fox put you up to this?"

"What? No. He just told me how badly I made you feel all the time. I never realized it, Katt. You always hid it so well. The first time I saw you cry was when you left. I didn't know I'd even made you cry before that."

The feline just stared at him, expressionless.

"Look... Can I take you out on a date? I know I'll never make up for it... but at the very least, can I try to redeem myself?"

Katt sighed, staring him down for several long seconds. "Very well."

"Thank you, Katt." He pulled her into a hug. It took her by surprise, but after a few seconds she returned the embrace, much to Falco's relief.

Being held by him so tightly stirred up long buried emotions in Katt. She clenched her jaw, attempting to drive them back down. He released her at long last.

"Are you free tonight?"

"Yeah..."

"I'll make reservations for eight. Is that alright?"

Katt shrugged. "That's fine."

Falco took her face in his hands and kissed her forehead. "I can't undo what I've done, but by God, I can try."

He left the room, and Katt stood where he'd left her. She had buried her feelings for him as deep as they would go for years, and with one hug and a soft kiss on her forehead, he had brought them all flooding back at once. She turned away from the door, as if by turning around she could turn and hide from them. She lifted her hand to her mouth and bit the knuckle on her right index finger hard enough to leave a mark.

It took several moments to reclaim her emotions as her own. When she did, she headed straight for a steaming shower.

Once out of the shower, she went through her wardrobe, trying to decide what to wear by attempting to guess what kind of date Falco would take her on.

_Let's see. He doesn't seem the type to get all fancy like Fox and Krystal, even if he is Foxie's best friend. But I don't really expect something trashy like fast food, either. Dear Lord if he takes me to a fast food place I'm going to punch him in the throat every time I see him for the rest of my life._

After a long time of going back and forth with ideas, she settled on some cute short blue jean shorts and a black tank top.

Despite taking her time in the shower and slowly choosing her outfit, it was still only three in the afternoon. She poked around, drank some wine out of the cooler next to the mini fridge, and then settled down for a show on the television. She stared into the screen for a while, not actually paying attention to what was going on.

When she finally turned off the show, it was not quite five. She let out a long sigh and flopped face first into the pillows on her bed with a long, frustrated groan. She pulled one of the pillows over her head and turned her face sideways so that she could still breathe, and fell asleep.

The sound of knocking woke her from her sleep a few moments later. She sat up, slightly groggy from her ten minute nap, and shook her head violently. It was darker than she remembered.

She glanced at the clock, and her heart jumped into her throat.

It was after seven.

With a slight shriek, she threw herself out of bed and across the room. She'd slept in her clothes. Her hair had returned to its morning messiness. She scurried into the bathroom, combed her hair out as quickly as she could, and sprayed it with a specially formulated conditioner that would keep it soft but hold it in place. She then gargled mouthwash at an alarming speed and ran to the door, taking a deep breath on the way to calm herself.

She opened it slowly, eyeing his outfit to ensure she was dressed appropriately. "You're here already?"

"Well, I reserved the place at eight. It's after seven, and there's probably traffic." Falco was dressed in blue jeans, a red t-shirt, old grey sneakers, and a grey jacket. He offered her his arm. "Shall we?"

Relieved that she hadn't under-dressed, she smiled and stepped back into her room to put on a comfortable pair of black sneakers with pink shoe laces. She often felt she would die if she ever left privacy without at least one visible article of pink. To Falco's relief, she emerged after a moment and took his arm.

"So, where are we going on this redeeming date?"

"It's a surprise. I think you'll like it."

"Well, I hope they have good food, because I'm starving."

"I've got it covered. Don't worry." He escorted Katt to the front of the hotel, where a hot pink limousine was waiting.

Katt raised a brow. "A limo?"

"I'm going all out. I told you I needed to redeem myself, didn't I?" Falco winked. He opened the door for her. "I think you'll like it."

She stepped into the limousine and her eyes were met with several shades of pink. She cracked a grin, sitting down on the pink faux furred seats. A bottle of pink champagne rested in a large dark pink cup holder. "You weren't kidding."

"Oh, don't worry. I died a little inside while organizing this."

"A little?" She grinned.

He coughed into his hand. "A lot."

"Good." She picked up the champagne.

"No no, that's for later."

"I'm sorry?"

"Don't worry, it'll be here waiting for you. Just trust me."

She hesitated, and then slowly replaced the bottle as the limo began to move. The lights dimmed. In the large holder on the opposite side was a bottle of strawberry lemonade, which was, of course, also pink. She poured herself a glass, jealously eyeing the bottle of pink champagne. "So, are you going to tell me yet where we're going?"

"Nope!" Falco clasped his hands behind his head and leaned into the seat's pink fur, closing his eyes to shield them from the horrendous color bombardment.

Katt leaned back, balancing her cup of pink lemonade and smiling as she took in the delightful color scheme. She glanced over at Falco, but let her gaze linger when she realized his eyes were closed. She knew full well the extent of his hatred for things that were unnecessarily pink, and yet here he was sucking it up to try to impress her. She almost felt out of place for not having worn more pink in her outfit, but her fur offset her worries. At least there was  _some_  tint left to it.

She finished her lemonade and set the empty cup in a holder. The limousine windows were tinted pink, giving everything outside a reddish glow.

They rode quietly for several minutes.

Fox's conversation with him from several days ago was still clear in Falco's mind.

_"I don't know what's going on. I mean, I know I made her cry right before she left and I feel awful about that. But she's been really cold to me since she got here."_

_"Did you ever apologize?"_

_"No... I mean, it only happened once. I didn't think it was that big of a deal."_

_"Falco, you made her cry a lot more than just once."_

_"What?"_

_"You said a lot of rude things to her. The whole team heard you, numerous times. It's a wonder she didn't leave sooner. That girl must have really loved you."_

_"I mean... maybe I was a little cold to her sometimes, but I was mostly afraid of the commitment she wanted."_

_"A little cold? I don't think you realize how bad you made her feel. My room was across from hers. I used to hear her crying a lot. If you were afraid of commitment you should have just told her that. Be honest, Falco. No one wants to date a liar. Hell, this is coming from the guy who hasn't had a date in about ten years, too. I thought you'd know something like that with your dating history."_

"I'm sorry." Falco broke the silence.

"For what?" Katt inquired.

"For... for what I said that night."

"You already apologized."

"I know, but I feel like it needs to be said again. I said some really messed up things. Katt, on that mission... I didn't want to say it to you or to anyone, but I was scared. I was shaking. I thought I was going to lose you. I barely even made it in time to save your life. I didn't know how to handle my feelings. When I said that the team didn't need you, I meant that they didn't need you as much as I do. When I said that you were a moron, I mean that you'd done something stupid and it really scared me. When I said you were too clingy, it was because I was scared of commitment. And when I told you to leave me alone and get out of here... I didn't mean a single word of it."

Katt turned away, biting into her lower lip. His words had plagued her for months after she left.

"I know that none of that justifies anything that I said. What I said to you was cruel, and I can never take it back, no matter how much I want to. But ya know, maybe if I'm even halfway good enough for you, I can live to never say something like that to you again, and maybe we can start fresh. I don't want things to be the way they were. I want them to be better."

The limousine pulled to a halt, and the lights got brighter.

"Are we here?" Katt asked, thankful for an excuse to end the conversation before she started to cry.

"Looks like it." Falco pushed the door open and climbed out, leaving room for her behind him.

She looked up at the three story building and a huge grin lit her face.

**_Last Action Paintball_ **

The bird caught sight of the devious look in the feline's eyes, and it sent shivers down his spine.  _What have I done?_

"I am gonna kick your tiny feathered ass."

"Sure, why don't you put your money where your mouth is." He said sarcastically.

"Alright, I will. Loser pays." She smirked.

"Deal. You'd better be ready for me to eat you into bankruptcy."

Katt laughed. "You know, I was thinking of how I was going to kill you if you took me to fast food, but this happens to be the only exception."

They walked side by side into the front door. He mumbled something to the white wolf at the front desk and slipped her a small card. She nodded and gestured towards the restaurant area of the place.

"Why is it so empty in here?" Katt asked. There were no other customers visible besides the two of them.

Falco shrugged. "Dunno." They sat down at a table, and an otter brought them two menus.

Katt frowned. "This is a different menu than the one I remember. Though, to be fair I haven't been here in like five years."

Falco shrugged.

"It's also more pricey than I remember."

Falco shrugged.

Katt read down the menu. "These are some pretty nice entrees... since when do they serve  _wine_  here?"

Falco shrugged.

Katt narrowed her gaze suspiciously over the menu at the falcon, who was munching away on the complimentary bread that had just arrived.

Falco shrugged.

The waiter asked for their drinks. Falco ordered a diet coke, and Katt ordered herself a bottle of the most expensive wine.

"Be ready for bankruptcy." She warned.

"You still have that bottle of champagne in the car, and I'm gonna make you finish all of it." He grinned.

"Oh, I shall. Don't worry."

They shared the wine, which was just sweet enough without being overpowering. Katt ordered herself a tri-tip cut of red meat with soup, vegetables, and a side of sweet potato fries. Falco decided on a rib-eye with chowder and curly fries.

"So, while we wait... tell me about what happened after you left Star Fox." Falco said.

"You mean, after you called me names and asked me to leave?"

The avain shifted uncomfortably.

"I just kept flying in a straight line, until there was a planet in the way. I was nearly out of fuel cells, so I figured I should land anyways. Apparently, there's something in the atmosphere of the planet that prevents anything electronic from functioning there. My phone was dead, my ship was dead, even my blaster didn't work. Everything died the minute I hit the atmosphere. Coincidentally, it was Krystal's planet. I didn't really have means to leave anyways, so I stayed. And after a while, I didn't want to leave. Krystal's brother came to visit her one day... it was for her sweet sixteenth. At sixteen, girls on Cerinia are of age. This guy had built himself a ship and blasted off to see the rest of the universe a few years before I landed there. He's the one who taught Krystal the language."

She paused for a few seconds to think. "I guess he... found a reason to stick around for a while. Well one day, shit went down. Big time. There were explosions, and people were dying... the sky turned black. It looked like some sort of eclipse, but it was actually a meteor. A whole bunch of tiny rocks came from the sky, and the entire village was in chaos. There were fires, and people lying dead in the streets... it was awful. But Krystal's brother had a ship. So I looked for him, but I couldn't find him. I couldn't find Krystal, either. The meteor was so close, I couldn't afford to wait around for them. I took his ship, and I left. I flew to a space station and had another ship commissioned for myself with the money from our last mission. And I never really spoke of it again."

"So, you and Krystal are the only survivors?"

"That we know of, yes. It's possible, but very unlikely, that someone else could have made it out alive."

"How did Krystal escape?"

"She'd made friends with a CloudRunner from Sauria. He found her and flew her to safety at CloudRunner Fortress. She got captured eventually, and then Fox saved her."

"Wow. Small world." Falco mused.

"What about you? I heard you left not long after I did."

The violet falcon lowered his head. "I went after you. It took me a little while to get the guts to, but I did. I left in the direction I'd last seen you going. As you probably know, I didn't find you. I wanted to apologize and bring you back. I searched for years, Katt. From the day you left to the day you returned, I searched high and low. I couldn't find a single trace of you. Not you, not your ship, nothing. I even tried to pay one of the thugs in Sargasso to trace your ship. He wouldn't do it because I'm from Star Fox. It took me a while, but I hatched a plan and broke in to do it myself. The last trace of your ship had come from the area of Sauria the day after you had left. So I went there to look for you. Sauria really wasn't my kind of place. I left pretty quickly, convinced that you weren't there. The entire population was dinosaurs, and none of them even speak Lylatian. At least, not the ones I spoke to. So, I searched the area. I kept coming back to it, day after day, looking for a sign of you. One day I was there, and I swear I was finally giving up. I saw a battle going on. It was Andross. I could tell that scum even from far away. I spotted Fox after a few minutes, too. He was getting sucked in. It wasn't looking good for him, so I swooped in in the nick of time. And that's it. I was back on the team after that. I had given up looking for you. I thought I'd never see you again, and then all of the sudden there you were, the same day, not even two hours after I showed up." He chuckled. "If I'd known all I had to do to make you come back was give up on looking, I would've done it years ago."

The waiter arrived with their food. They devoured their plates, and argued over whether to get dessert. Both of them were far too full to finish a whole dessert, so they settled on splitting a slice of triple chocolate cake. Or rather, Katt decided and Falco agreed.

They sat still for a good twenty minutes to let their food settle.

"I do not remember food here tasting that good." Katt said.

"Me neither." Falco stood up. "Come on. We still have to discover which one of us is paying." He walked to the white wolf at the front counter. "We'll have two for the two hour unlimited paintball."

"That will be ninety-eight credits."

"If you don't mind, we'd like to pay on the way out. The lady and I have a bet to settle on who's going to win this."

The wolf raised an eyebrow. "I'm rooting for her already. I'll get your gear."

"Hey, don't rig anything now."

She winked.

Katt frowned.

"Ninety-eight credits, kitty cat. And that doesn't begin to cover the dinner. Prepare yourself for an extended leave from shopping." He winked at her.

"Hah. As if. Prepare  _your_ self for an extended leave from pay-per-view porn."

Falco stammered. "H-hey! That was  _one_  time!"

Katt laughed as the wolf came back with their gear.

"It self adjusts. The suits will use beaming technology to teleport you to a spawn point when you get shot in a vital area. The paintballs are real, and they can leave bruises if shot into an unarmored area or if shot onto the same area multiple times. Your match will last exactly two hours. At the end of two hours, you will both be teleported to the spawn point closest to the exit, and your guns will cease to work. There is a small screen on your wrist that will tell you how much time is left and how many points you have. Your opponent's points will remain a mystery unless they choose to tell you for some reason. Chest kills are worth one point and head shots are worth two. Reload cartridges will spawn randomly throughout the level. You are the only customers right now, so this will be a one on one match. Loser gets the bill for dinner and the game."

By the time the explanation was over, both Katt and Falco had equipped their gear over their clothes. The body armor was dark grey. The helmet covered their face entirely so as to avoid eye injury. There were small gaps in the armor to allow for joint movement in the shoulders, elbows, knees, hips, and ankles. A gap in the rear allowed for tails of all shapes and sizes. The helmet was equipped with a visual targeting aid that outlined suspicious shapes in green. Katt found it inaccurate and annoying, and switched it off.

They stepped into the arena, and the timer buzzed to indicate the match had started.

"May the best man wi-"

Katt shot Falco directly in the chest with a neon pink paintball, sending him off immediately to a spawn point. "Woman." She corrected, venturing into the arena. Everything was woods-themed. There were different types of vegetation growing from the ground, including several large trees to hide behind. The further into the arena Katt went, the thicker the foliage was.

She picked up five refill cartridges along the way. They were magnetic and stuck to the waist belt on her armor. Only eleven would fit, which was a feature to thwart hoarders. Aside from the waist belt, the entirety of the armor would magnetically repel the cartridges. As a sort of compensation, Katt would leave half-empty cartridges on the ground in place of new full ones that she took.

"Surprise!"

Katt whipped around and shot Falco three times as he emerged from a bush, but not before he managed a single shot.

"My tail!" She shrieked. "He shot my  _tail_!" She held up her purple stained tail in anger and disbelief. "Son of a bitch." She loaded her gun with a fresh cartridge and headed through the woods with a vengeance.

By the end of the two hours, Falco had racked up a grand total of 47 points.

Katt scored 532.

"Eh, I was going easy on you." Falco lied. He had actually planned on going easy on her. He had not planned on her taking the tail shot so personally and calculating exactly when and where he was going to spawn each time she shot him.

Katt just smirked. "Don't ever mess with my tail, bird-brain."

Falco inhaled deeply through his nose and held his breath until the urge to shout profanities had passed. Then he exhaled.

He paid for the bill - which had been his original intention, excluding the part where he lost to Katt by nearly five hundred points - and they left together. He had spent over a thousand credits on the entire evening, and despite his ego, he would never have let Katt lose the bet.

He slipped his arm over her shoulders as they sat in the limo. "Did you have fun?" He asked.

She stared at him for a good ten seconds before replying. "All right, the jig is up. I know you did something sneaky. What was it? You've never been this nice in your life."

"Hey!" He frowned. "The niceness wasn't to cover up anything, ya know."

"But what are you covering up? I know the food has something to do with it, because there's no way a little fast food joint right next to the paintball arena has food that expensive or that good."

Falco reached for the champagne. "All right, you got me. I told you I made reservations. I know you don't like crowds, especially since we almost always get recognized and mobbed. So I asked them if they could close early, and they agreed. I also know you're not a huge fan of fast food. And since Foxie just took his girl out to a fancy dinner last night, I had to top him. I called up this little five-star place I used to go to for payday celebrations, and asked if they had any chefs to spare. They agreed. Even brought a whole truck down with all the food you might order. I already knew exactly what I wanted, so at least that was simple. I figured you'd go for that wine, so I told them to bring just that one." As he was speaking, he opened the bottle and poured two glasses.

"Why are you doing this?" She asked.

"To celebrate that you kicked my ass at paintball." He set the bottle down in its holder, and then set the glasses down in the two cup holders.

"You know what I mean."

"I just wanted to make sure you had a great time."

"No, why are you making all of this effort all of the sudden? Since when do you know what kind of wine I like?"

"I overheard you ask the hotel's front desk if they had any and how much it was."

"Why are you trying to bring up all of my old feelings again?!" She blurted.

Falco was quiet for a moment. "Katt, ever since that mission, ever since I realized how afraid I was of losing you... my feelings have been the same for you. When you left and I didn't hear from you, it killed me. I didn't know what to do without you. Now that you're here again, I need to make sure I don't lose you again."

Against months of burying her feelings and months more of learning to not cry over him, Katt's eyes moistened with tears.

Falco took the champagne glasses out of their holders and handed her one. "Congratulations on kicking my ass."

She grinned, blinking away the obnoxious wetness in her eyes. "Yeah, well... I went easy on you."

He playfully pushed on her arm. "Hey, that's my line. I couldn't have my beautiful date paying her own meal, now, could I?"

Katt blushed down at her champagne and took a large sip.

The limo finally arrived back at the hotel, and Falco stepped up to tip the driver. Katt brought out the bottle of champagne and took a long gulp straight from it as she walked through the lobby. Her date caught up with her and gently slid his arm around her waist as they stepped into the elevator. They were silent on the ride up.

Falco walked her to her room. "Did you have a good time tonight?"

"Yeah, I really did. It was nice. Thank you, Falco." Katt placed her palm on the pad and her door opened.

"I'm glad." He shifted slightly. "Katt, uh... May I, uhh... may I kiss-" before he could finish his sentence, her lips smothered the words from his mouth. The force with which she'd slammed into him sent him back a few steps. He caught her in his arms and regained his balance.

The spry feline gave a slight jump, lifting her legs and wrapping them around his waist. He caught her body with his hands beneath her rear and walked carefully into her room, peeking his eyes open just enough to see. He kicked the door closed behind him and carried her to the bed, plopping her down and climbing over her in one smooth motion.

"I'll take that as permission to kiss?" He asked in a cocky manner.

"Oh, shut up and tear my clothes off before I change my mind."

He kissed her passionately, obliging her request. They were undressed in less than a minute. Katt lifted her thighs around his waist and pulled at his hips.

"My, so eager, aren't you?" He smirked.

She stared lustfully into his eyes. "Fuck me."

He chuckled. "Sorry, I didn't hear that... what was that?" 

She dug her nails into his shoulders and pulled his head down so that his ear was level with her mouth. "Fuck me."

He ran his fingers along her perfect pussy, drawing a sigh of anticipation from her. "God, you're wet."

She wrapped her legs around his hips and lifted her torso into the air, slamming against him. 

"Mmm... you want it?"

"Oh, you have no idea."

He teased her with his tip, rubbing it up and down against her several times as she squirmed. Each time he lined up he hesitated, and she whimpered. At long last he pushed in slowly, only to about halfway, and then withdrew. She cried out, digging in with her claws.

"Stop teasing me, damn you!"

"Aww, but you're just so much fun to tease...." He entered her again, but stopped halfway. He started to pull back out, but thrust his full length inside at the last second.

She gasped audibly, clutching his shoulders as he started thrusting at a fast pace. He held his weight on his right arm and slipped his left hand down to rub her clit. She arched her chest up towards him. He thought heavily about sucking on her nipples, but he was barely coordinated enough to keep up two things at once. Her thighs tensed around him and he moaned as she tightened up in climax. His pace slowed a bit, savoring the feel.

Katt collapsed back into the mattress in bliss. "Oh my god... why couldn't you do that eight years ago?" She asked.

He chuckled. "You live and learn, I guess." He pulled her legs up over his shoulders and thrusted slow but hard, watching her breasts bounce with each thrust. He slowly increased the speed until she climaxed again, and then he withdrew.

"Aw, are you done?"

He snorted. "No," he said, in a slightly offended tone. He slid two fingers into her and lowered his beak to her clit. While at the genetic disadvantage of not having soft lips, the offset was that with the correct motion, the round of his beak made a decent vibrator. He stuck out his tongue, teasing her with an upward lick. She moaned and squirmed, and her legs began to violently shake. 

"Fuck!" She screamed. She turned her head sideways and bit hard onto the bed pillow. 

Just before the peak of her orgasm, he removed his fingers and looked up at her, expectant.

She scoffed loudly. "You ass!"

He laughed, rolling onto his back. "You want that orgasm? You better work for it."

She climbed on top of him, narrowing her eyes. "You'll pay for that one." Her hand steadied his cock and she slowly lowered down onto it. She ground her hips forward and back, stimulating herself with the friction.

"Ah... yeah..." He placed his hand on her hip and closed his eyes in pleasure. On instinct his pelvis began to slowly thrust upwards in time with her movements.

She sped up a bit, moaning as she neared her climax.

"Ah... fuck... Katt, I'm gonna cum..."

"Oh, yeah, me too..."

"I'm not wearing a condom..."

"It's alright... I'm on the pill. Just fucking fill me with it." She reached the peak a few seconds later.

He grabbed her hips and thrust upwards, shoving himself as deep as he could possibly go. His mouth hung open as he climaxed, overwhelmed with the satisfying feeling of coming directly into her.

She climbed off him and rolled onto her back. As they lay together on the bed, sweaty and out of breath, Falco rolled closer to her and nuzzled his beak next to her ear. "Katt?"

"Yeah?" she panted.

"I love you."

The simple three words set fire to her heart, not just because he had finally said it, but because beneath his tone lay sincerity and affection. Truly, from his core, he meant it.

She smiled contentedly, turning her face towards the ceiling and closing her eyes to soak in this moment. Her chest churned in satisfaction. It had been quite a while since she had felt so at peace with the world. Taking in a deep breath of pheremone-tinted air, she held it in her lungs a moment before exhaling slowly. In a soft voice filled with emotion, she finally replied.

"I love you, too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, yes, Katt didn't join the Star Fox team in the canon plot. Good thing this is a fan fiction. There's a short spin off I wrote regarding these changes called Katt's Heart. The information is not mandatory for this plot, it just details how and why she joined Star Fox previously and what went on while she was with them.


	23. Wounded

"Fox…" The voice echoed in the black abyss of dreams.

The sleepy vulpine opened his eyes and looked around. All he could see was black. His feet weren't on the ground. In fact, he didn't even know which way the ground was.

"Fox."

He could recognize that voice anywhere.

"Father?"

"My son… you're not a boy anymore."

Fox couldn't tell where the voice was coming from. He looked about himself, trying to find the source. "Where are you?" He asked. The shadow of his father lightened and walked toward him. It was as if the only light in the area was coming from him. Fox grinned. He couldn't help but feel like a child.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you, son. I missed out on your life, and you missed out on having a father." James said. He was wearing his sunglasses, as usual. Fox wondered for a moment how he was able to see anything at all.

"It wasn't your fault. You couldn't have done anything about it." Fox said. "If Andross hadn't…"

"No. It was my fault. I took it for granted that I was the first pilot to ace the academy test, and I wasn't as alert as I should've been. If I had been more focused, I would've seen Pigma's betrayal coming."

Fox swallowed the lump in his throat. "It wasn't your fault. You couldn't have known. Besides, we... we can't change the past."

"But we can look out for the future. Speaking of the future, I see you've found yourself a girl." James changed the subject, causing Fox to blush lightly.

"Yeah…" He said nervously.

"Do you love her?" James asked.

"Well, I mean... We've only been together a short while." Fox said, fighting his nervousness.

"The amount of time you've been dating doesn't dampen how you feel about someone. Hell, I knew I loved your mother from the moment I laid eyes on her. When I saw her face for the first time, I wanted nothing more than to be close to her and make her happy as long as I lived. That's what love feels like, son."

"Well, then... I guess I do."

"Hold her tight, Fox. Don't let her go far." James frowned.

"What? Why?"

The older vulpine began to turn transparent. "Keep her close, Fox. Don't lose her, no matter what happens."

"What's going to happen? Dad! Don't leave, please!" Fox closed his eyes and let his head hang as James vanished.

"Fox, wake up in there!" Falco's voice broke the silence. Fox raised his head to find himself in his arwing. He yawned once and looked out the window, his eyes suddenly becoming aware of a large metal ship. "Come on, sleepy head! Get your act together! He's getting away!" Falco shouted. Fox pressed the boost on his arwing, pursuing the odd looking ship. His mind was void of any memory of what was going on.

He gasped in shock as the ship turned to face him.

"Andross!" He exclaimed. "How many times do I have to kill you before you  _die_!?"

The evil scientist had a cruel smirk on his machine-animated face. "Hahahaha… how naive of you, Fox McCloud. You seem to think that it is easy to get rid of me." Andross sneered.

"RAAAHHH!" Fox bellowed as he fired several lasers into the hands of the mechanism. To his surprise, there was no sign of his lasers left on the machine.

"Fox, no!" Krystal shrieked. "It's a trap! It's not him, Fox! Get away from it!"

"What?" Fox asked, confused.

"Get out, it's a trap!" Krystal cried again.

A series of explosions flew from the enemy, decimating the ships of Fox's teammates. He screamed as Krystal's ship exploded in front of his eyes, followed by Falco's, and then Slippy's. The explosion light died out, and everything outside of his arwing became an empty black void, save Andross' giant, menacing face.

"What are you waiting for!? Kill me! Kill me you bastard!" Fox screamed.

Andross laughed. His laugh grew deeper, and his face began to skew into the face of a fox. A cloak covered the top half of the face, but two piercing red eyes glowed from the shadows.

"Who are you!?"

The laugh only got louder.

"Why are you doing this?!" Fox was getting desperate. The laughter was deafening now. "ANSWER ME!"

"Becaaauuse." The voice said, dragging out the word. "It's fun." He gestured into the blackness.

Several feet away, Krystal's body lay lifeless in the darkness. Her body was illuminated, but nothing else. Fox stepped closer to her, trembling. Her eyes were grey and empty, and she wasn't breathing. "NOOOOOOOO!" Fox gasped, looking up, and panting heavily. "It was just a dream. It was a dream." He was in his hotel room. He looked to his left, where Krystal lay, sleeping peacefully.

She was safe, he was alive, and Andross was still dead where he belonged.

Fox got out of his bed and quietly walked to the kitchen, where he poured himself a glass of water. He drank it slowly, savoring the cool liquid as it refreshed his dry mouth, then set his cup in the sink. He leaned onto the counter with both arms, admiring the sleeping vixen across the room.

"Isn't she lovely?" A voice asked.

Fox started, staring wide-eyed at the piercing red eyes that glared from under the black cloak. "You... why are you doing this? Why are you trying to kill her?"

He laughed. "I haven't been trying at all. If I had, she would be dead. I have a better plan, you see. I'm going to take her from you, Fox. I'm going to rip her away from your grasp slowly and painfully, and there's absolutely nothing you can do about it." As he spoke, he walked slowly closer.

"You leave her alone." Fox said angrily, balling his hand into a fist.

"Oh, she'll come willingly. The choice will be hers. And once I've taken her from you, I'm going to destroy her, and then I'm going to destroy  _you_."

Fox gasped, sitting upright with a jolt. He rubbed his hands on his face, pulling at his skin.  _How many bad dreams can a guy have in one night? Sheesh._  He glanced beside him, but Krystal wasn't there.  _Of course not. She's in her own room, where she has been this whole time._ He hadn't seen her since their date two days ago, and he was starting to miss her pretty deeply.

He got out of bed and rubbed his eyes. It was 4 in the morning. The beer in the mini-fridge was calling him. He took the bait, and eventually he was able to fall back asleep.

( **The next morning** )

Krystal stretched her arms out and arched her chest into the air, popping several vertebrae in her back. She yawned audibly and rolled over in bed before opening her eyes. She squinted at the brightness.  _Damn, what happened to those auto dimmers for the window?_  she thought. Her hand reached for a small remote on the bedside table. She clicked it down until she could see without damaging her corneas and finally climbed out of bed.

She walked to where her jeans were folded on the chair and checked her pocket for the blue stone. She sighed in relief when its warm surface touched her fingers, and then she went to relieve her bladder.

Her feet stepped from the cold tile back to the soft carpet a moment later. She stared for a moment at the door between her room and Fox's room, pondering knocking to check up on him. At some point during the night, she'd been woken by his thought patterns, but his distress was only from a bad dream. Unsure if it would be appropriate to try and comfort him, she had simply gone back to sleep. On top of that, she hadn't seen him at all the previous day.

Katt's voice entered her mind from the past with what she had called Dating Advice:  _Don't be clingy!_

The vixen sighed, somewhat disappointed. She picked up the "room service" tablet from the counter, a nice addition that the previous hotel didn't have. She selected a simple array of breakfast items and then sat on the couch to wait. The TV controls were within an arm's reach, and with the click of a button a documentary about the creation of Dome was playing.

She listened intently, fascinated with the Cornerians' technological advancements.

After several moments, her food arrived at her door with a knock. She brought the tray back to the couch and sat cross legged, picking items off the plates with her bare hands. It was a habit she'd have to break, eventually. For now, though, no one was looking.

Suddenly, the program froze. She frowned, reaching for the controls.

"Don't worry, it's not broken." A familiar voice said.

She looked up at the glowing blue eyes under the cloak. "Hello, Con."

"Something's coming. I came to warn you, but I don't know what he's planning. They're not talking about it at all, at least not while I'm there."

"Your brother and the white cat?"

"Yeah."

"Don't worry. I've got good friends here. We're a team. We can handle it."

"I'm not so sure."

"You don't even know what they're planning."

"No... but I'm afraid of what it might be. I'm really hoping I'm wrong."

"Well, tell me how to defeat him."

"You can't kill him, or else I'll die, remember?"

"That's right... Fascinating..." She mused. "One can't die without the other. It's as if your souls are connected."

"Something like that, yeah."

"Alright, then how do I fight a mortal enemy I can't kill?"

"Your best bet is to do practice exercises with your powers. If you manage to get stronger than him, it's possible to subdue him. Maybe we can even figure out a way to take away his powers."

"You know, if I do manage to beat him, I'm going to find out who he is."

"It's possible..." He said nervously.

"And if I talk to you long enough, I'm sure I'll start to remember you. Then what?" Krystal asked.

"You won't remember me. You didn't even recognize me when I…" He paused, as if he had almost given something away.

"When you what?" Krystal asked.

"N-nothing… you wouldn't recognize me if I took off this hood." He said. "You'd think I was someone else."

"Clearly you know or knew me very well. Try me."

"I'm not falling for that. You know very well that I'm not taking off my hood."

"Hm… well, let's see. Here are my clues. You're stubborn, arrogant, bad tempered…" Krystal began in a teasing tone.

"Hey! I am  _not_!" He sighed. "You've seen me before, anyways. Revealing my identity isn't something I'm ready to do yet. Maybe one day. Maybe soon." The vulpine said. He winced.

"What's wrong?" Krystal asked.

"I'm running low on time." He replied.

"You can stop time, but there's a time limit? Why is that?"

"Unfortunately. I think it has to do with energy."

"Can you get more time somehow?"

"The blue stone gave me the power, but I don't know how to make it give me more."

"Hang on." Krystal ran to her folded pants and retrieved the stone from her pocket.

"You have it  _here_?"

"I want it where I can keep an eye on it."

"You should hide it better than that." Con scolded.

She rolled her eyes, handing it to him. "You're welcome. Here, try... something."

He held it and stared at it for a few moments. "Well, as long as I'm holding it the pain is gone. So that's good."

"Maybe you should keep it."

"I can't. Once time resumes its flow, the stone just goes through me. I'm like a ghost."

"What happens when you disappear?"

"I'm still there, wherever I vanished. It's just that no one can see me. I can walk through walls or teleport at will. But I can't interact with anything or anyone."

Krystal frowned. "What do you do when you're invisible?"

"Mostly just wander. I check up on my brother occasionally to see what they're planning next, and then I check up on you to make sure you're safe."

"I'm... flattered." She said uneasily, giving him a concerned look and crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm not quite sure I feel safe being alone anymore, knowing I can't see you when you're spying on me."

"Don't get any ideas." Con scoffed. "Besides, I've already-" he stammered suddenly, "I-I've... got better things to do than stand around invisible all day and stare at naked women like some sort of pervert."

She narrowed her eyes at his stutter, thinking back again to the broken memory in her head. "If you say so."

"If it makes you feel better, I'll try to let you know when and if I come into your room from now on."

"I'd appreciate it."

"All right." He held out the rock. "Are you okay if I go now? I'll leave your room straight off, don't worry. I'm not that interested in what you do in your alone time."

Krystal's face turned red. "Just what are you implying?"

"What? N-Nothing!" Beneath his hood, the vulpine's cheeks had nearly turned the color of his brother's eyes. "I just meant I have no reasons to be here when you can't see me."

Krystal reached for the rock, but hesitated. "When you run out of time, why is it that your stomach is what hurts?"

"I received a fatal wound there a couple years ago. The stone's power was able to catch my soul before it was too late, and it partially re-bonded with my body. As a ghost, I remain healthy. But when I stop time, it rolls on for me and the wound both. For whatever reason, the rock stops it. But without it, I'm pretty sure if I held onto keeping time stopped for too long, it would kill me again."

"May I see it? The wound, I mean." The blue vixen asked.

Con hesitated. "It doesn't really form until the last few seconds... but I guess, if you really want. I have to warn you though, it's pretty gruesome."

"I've probably seen worse, don't worry. I won't puke at the sight of blood, or anything."

He handed her the rock and lifted his cloak to reveal loose beige cotton pants and a well toned orange abdomen. A small cut appeared on the left side of his body, and slowly grew deeper as it dragged across his mid-section. He grimaced as blood began to seep from it.

Krystal's eyes widened, and immediately Con knew he'd made a mistake.

He vanished.

 _That wound! It's exactly the same as... but it can't be. It can't! But... he does have a brother, doesn't he? Assuming his brother didn't die back on Cerinia. Why would his brother want to kill me?_ A thousand memories surfaced in her mind.

Con let go of the cloak, letting it fall back to his feet. He was invisible again, but the look on her face terrified him. "No... No, please don't. Don't you dare."

"Tony..." She muttered. The name was so quiet that he could barely hear it.

"Fuck!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I took out some unnecessary events, but I decided to leave Fox's strange nightmare. The Party is almost here! Things are about to pick up the pace.
> 
> Con: You can't do that! You can't! And really, 'Con'? That's the best name you could come up with? What is the world coming to?!
> 
> Me: Um… Yes I can… And Con is a perfect name for you. Can you think of anything better?
> 
> Con: Uh…crap.
> 
> Me: 'Crap'? You wanna be called 'Crap'? And another thing… I'm the author here! Not you. I can do whatever I want.
> 
> Crap: For the love of all that is good in the world, please don't call me 'crap.'
> 
> Me: Oh, relax, Crap. Go fight with your brother or something.


	24. Brother

Krystal hardly slept at all that night. She couldn't stop thinking about Con.

The shadows of his cloak covered his face, but her suspicions were raised by the wound on his stomach. Long ago, on Sauria, she had joined in the fight against General Scales. He had always wanted to rule Dinosaur Planet, and every few years he would make an attempt. This time, he sent an army to attack the CloudRunner Fortress and capture the Queen CloudRunner. Krystal fought with her CloudRunner friends to defend their home. Many of the CloudRunners had been wounded and fled to avoid death or capture.

Few remained, and the SharpClaws were overwhelming in number. Krystal was surrounded, and they were slowly backing her towards the edge. She fought valiantly, but for every one she cut down it seemed there were two more to take its place. Her staff's connection with her kept it from running out of energy, but it was draining its power from her, and it was beginning to take its toll.

A man came running from the distance, and joined her in taking them on. She was too busy fighting for her life to pay attention to who he was, at first. But she had to notice his bravery, for he had run in without a weapon to fight them with her. Together they managed to thin the numbers, effectively halting the evil General's plans.

Finding an opportunity to strike, one of the last few SharpClaw slashed open the man's stomach. Krystal killed the SharpClaw, but not before it pushed her already mortally wounded savior over the edge.

She had managed to extend her staff fast enough for him to grab the end of it, but she wasn't strong enough to pull him up. He had held on with one hand, looking up at her. She recognized him now, but she couldn't pull him to safety. She was leaned precariously over the edge, holding herself from slipping off with one hand, and gripping the staff with her other hand. She struggled in attempt to pull herself back far enough to grab her staff with both hands, but she couldn't do it. In the end, he had let go in order to save her again and fell to his death on the cliffs below.

_Tony._

Tears filled her eyes. She had thought him dead after the destruction on Cerinia. He arrived just in time to save her, but died a second time in front of her eyes. Could the man under the hood really be the same person, or was it just a coincidence? She had never gone to search for his body.

He also had a brother, but Tony was the one who had received the wound. It was the same wound, she was sure of it. The SharpClaw's sword had slashed him from left to right. The wound had seeped blood, and he had doubled over in a similar fashion to the way Con did each time he ran low on time. Tony's brother was his twin - what was his name again? Cameron? Casey? No, that wasn't right. Why couldn't she remember?

It made sense, in a twisted way. She hardly knew his brother, and the one time she'd met him, he had scared her. If he was the one trying to kill her, it wouldn't have been much of a surprise to her.

Then again, he was in the village when it was destroyed. And if Tony had survived his fall, he never would have hidden himself from her for so long. She remained on Sauria for a while after the incident. Perhaps it wasn't them after all.

There was a knock on the door, drawing her from her troubled thoughts. She got up to find Katt at the door with her purse. "What is it?" The vixen asked.

"Come on. We've got seven hours to get ready. That'll fly by like a ship in hyperspace." Katt replied.

"Where exactly are w-…"

"Have you showered today?" Katt asked.

"No, not yet."

"Oh my god. Shower. Now. I'll wait." Katt stepped inside and shut the door, and then shoved Krystal still clothed into her own tub.

Krystal showered, suddenly remembering that the party was that night. She was exhausted, despite still having been in bed at noon.

As soon as she was dressed, Katt grabbed her arm and led her out of the room, closing the door behind them. They went to a beauty parlor, where they got their hair styled, facials, manicures, pedicures, and professional make-up done. Katt also had her pink fur re-dyed. The process took most of the afternoon. On their way out of the mall, Katt stopped to impulsively buy them both a new pair of shoes.

Feeling refreshed, the two girls returned to the hotel. It was a bit after five.

"What _ever_  you do, do  _not_  let Fox see you until you're completely ready. I'll be there with my camera to take a picture. There's no  _way_  I'll miss out on the look on his face." Katt said. She looked at the clock in the lobby. "It's almost six… we've got about an hour. Let's go." They returned to Krystal's room.

Katt had a lovely deep purple dress with pink glitter all over it. It was strapless, like Krystal's, but fell with a lose skirt to the floor. A long slit cut the skirt vertically up to where the pink feline's hips became her legs. Her freshly painted pink toe-nails were visible in her high heeled shoes.

Krystal slipped into the black dress they had bought several days ago. It was strapless and hugged her figure, cutting off around her mid-thigh. The new shoes the pink feline had just bought for her were black heels, but the reasonable heel only lifted her by an inch. She was quite grateful she didn't have to try to get around all evening in the 3-inch stilettos in her closet. They were held to her feet by a single thick strap over the top of her foot as to let her perfectly pedicured toes show. The silver color she'd chosen for the manicure and pedicure was a nice accent to the simple outfit.

Katt gave Krystal a necklace and a purse to borrow. The necklace was a silver chain with a charm at the end of it. The purse was black with a silver strap and a silver clasp that held it shut.

"I'm loving the black and silver theme on you. It's darling."

"Thank you! You look lovely yourself, Katt."

Katt beamed. "We're gonna knock 'em dead tonight."

"I wonder how Fox will react…"

"He'll probably either pass out, or do this…" Katt stared at Krystal with her mouth open and tongue hanging out as Krystal started giggling. There was a knock at Krystal's door. The girls stopped giggling.

"It's Fox." Krystal said.

"I'll get it. Hide." Katt said. She walked to the door and opened it to see Fox. "Wow, dearest Foxie in a suit, how 'bout that?" She teased. "So, you're coming?"

"Yeah, of course. I... thought this was Krystal's room," Fox said.

"You thought right. She's not ready yet. You can stand there and wait, though. Your lovely princess will be out in a minute." Katt said with a wink. She closed the door in his face and then walked around the wall to the bedroom to get Krystal. "Let me see you. Do a little turn for me."

Krystal blushed and slowly turned a three-sixty for her friend.

"You look perfect." Katt said. She took her phone from her purse and set it to camera mode. "I'll get this ready, and you wait in here for my signal to exit." Katt walked out of the bedroom and opened the door to the hall. "You, move here." She said, taking the vulpine's shoulders and moving pulling him into the room a few feet. She looked back toward the bedroom. "Perfect." She said, taking several steps back with her phone at the ready. "Okay, Krys." She said.

Krystal slowly walked into the room. At the first glance, Fox's eyes widened and his mouth hung open. He was dumbstruck.  _Wow… she's beautiful…_ He continued to stare, taking in the sight before him. "Wow…" He murmured aloud. Katt's phone quacked.

"Oops... forgot to turn off the shutter tone." She muttered, taking several more shots.

Krystal twirled around. "What do you think?" She asked.

_Quack!_

"Wow… you're stunning." Fox said.

_Quack! Quack!_

Krystal smiled.

"Hey, Foxie, you can blink now." Katt said.

Fox blushed, realizing that he hadn't blinked since Krystal had entered the room.

_Quack!_

Katt looked at the clock on her phone. "It's seven… people are going to start arriving soon. Fox, is Falco going or is he just gonna whine about crowds the whole night?" She asked.

"I think he's going." Fox said. "Well, he said he was."

"Good. I'm taking Krystal, and you and Falco can take your own taxi." Katt said. She handed him a small slip of paper. "This is the address."

"Got it." Fox said. "I'll see you there."

As the two females walked out of the elevator at the ground floor, Katt noticed three men standing at the front desk, harassing the salamander who worked there.

"Aww, come on baby. You know you wanna come up, just for a lil bit." The one on the right, a hyena, was leaning over the counter and talking quietly, despite the uncomfortable look on the girl's face.

"Dayum." The one in the middle, a buff looking bear, turned around and let his eyes wander over the two women's figures.

"Now that's a piece of meat I'd enjoy all night." On the left, the weasel licked his lips.

"Hey babes, where you goin'?" The hyena turned from the salamander and thrust out his hips and waved his hand as if presenting himself as an option of destination.

"Walk faster…" Katt mumbled to Krystal. "I'll handle this." She turned to the three men with the nicest grin she could muster. "Hi, boys!"

They elbowed each other, snickering to themselves as she approached them.

She walked straight up to the hyena. "Were you looking for an actual answer to that question?"

"Well, if you're here to give me one." He raised his eyebrows flirtatiously and glanced over her body.

"I'll tell you where I'm going. I'm going to teach you a valuable lesson about how to respect women." Before he could react, Katt slugged him in the gut with enough force to make him double over. His friends jumped forward.

"WOMEN!" Katt shouted as she threw the hyena's body into the bear, knocking him off balance.

"ARE!" Her foot met the bear's face, sending it straight down into the marble edge of the front desk with a vicious crack.

"NOT!" She upper cutted the weasel, sending him reeling backwards to the floor.

"YOUR!" The hyena jumped at her, but she was ready with a move that used his own momentum to somersault him to the ground.

"PLAY THINGS!" She took a deep breath and composed herself.

The salamander behind the desk burst into tears. "Thank you! They-they are always here saying rude things to me, and I-I can't say anything back because I'm at work! I'll get fired for being rude to them!"

"If they ever come in here again to harass you, give me a call." Katt gave the girl her cell phone number and her room number.

"Th-thank you!"

"Krys, help me with these." Katt grabbed the hyena's arm and dragged him towards the door. Krystal opened the door for her. One by one, Katt dragged the unconscious men to the curb of the sidewalk, and then she waved for a taxi.

The first male taxi driver slammed on his brakes and rolled down the window. His light had been off, but he switched it on as he pulled over.

"Hi! Do you two need a ride?" The black and white cat said to Katt.

"Yes, thanks." She opened the door and the two females climbed inside.

"Hi, Tom!" Krystal said cheerfully. "How are you today?"

"I'm actually going to my friend Hannah's party, but I figured I could spare a few minutes for you lovely ladies." He said with a friendly smile.

"Hannah who?" Katt asked.

"Hannah Carter." He said.

"Seriously?" The pink feline laughed. "That's exactly where we're going."

"Really? Awesome coincidence! To Hannah's it is." The cat said. He smiled at Katt in particular as he talked. "So… do you two have dates for the dance?" He said.

"Yes, sorry to turn you down." Katt said.

"Aw… all the pretty girls are always taken." He pouted a bit as he pulled into a residential area. Several cars were already parked along the street. "Looks like we're not the first ones here… but at least we're not late," said Tom. He found a narrow spot and switched off his car.

"Thanks for driving us… what do I owe you?" Katt asked.

"A dance." He winked. "It was my absolute pleasure to accompany the two loveliest Star Fox members."

"Aw! You're sweet." Katt grinned and the driver blushed.

The door opened, and a perky dalmatian jumped out to hug both Katt and Tom. Katt introduced her to Krystal.

"Nice to meet you!" She said excitedly. "I'm Hannah! This is my party. Come in!"

The trio stepped inside. Several people had arrived before them, but the room had yet to fill. A small group of women stood in the corner, holding drinks with tiny umbrellas in them and giggling. The house was spacious. The bottom floor was mostly empty, with a specially treated blue floor made for dancing. There were lights built into the floor and ceiling that alternated, moved, flashed, and changed color to the beat of the music. Some bass-filled electronic music played from a large speaker system in the corner, behind which sat a DJ with a table and a screen. On the other end of the room, a bartender set up on the wall adjacent to the back patio doors.

A door near the staircase had a large sign that said "BATHROOM HAS STALLS!" Five people were ignoring the sign and lining up outside the door anyways.

A set of black glass stairs led to a second floor, slightly transparent but sturdy nonetheless. At the top of the stairs was another bathroom with no sign and no stalls. Beyond the bathroom was a hallway with several closed doors and at the end, opened double doors led to a balcony that overlooked the back yard. All of the rooms down the hallway were closed and presumably locked. Their host was no stranger to large parties.

By the time the girls made it to the bartender, ten more people had arrived.

Katt waved at the bartender. "Hi there! I'm stocking up before the crowd arrives. I'll have a Long Island Ice tea, and an Adios."

The bartender raised his brows. "Those are pretty strong, are you sure?"

"Boy, if it wasn't for me, this planet wouldn't exist anymore. Don't question my alcohol tolerance."

He chuckled and made her the drinks. "My apologies, Miss Monroe." He looked at Krystal. "I recognize her from TV. She's part of the team too, right?"

"You are correct." The feline replied.

"Congratulations on scoring that. A million girls would die for a day in your shoes. Ya know, having that McCloud guy being sweet on you. What would you like to drink?"

"Oh, I haven't decided." Krystal said, still blushing. She studied the menu. "I think I will go for a blackberry mojito, and the rum punch."

The bartender mixed her drinks for her and handed her the two plastic glasses. All of the cups were styled to look like fancy glassware, but made from drunk-proof plastic to avoid shattering.

They made their way out of the sudden crowd of people begging for drinks. A group of swooning women had surrounded a familiar looking vulpine. Krystal frowned as one of them placed her hand on his chest.

"Want me to murder them for you?" Katt asked.

"I'm contemplating it." The blue furred mercenary raised an eyebrow, staring down the group of females surrounding her fox. Despite the impulse to bash their heads together until they exploded, she stood in place and sipped her mojito.

"Oh my God! You're so much hotter in person!" A cheetah said breathlessly.

"Can I have your autograph?"

"You can come home with me tonight!"

"Uhh.." Fox nervously scratched the back of his neck. No matter how many times the estrogen-filled mob of hungry women surrounded him, he never quite knew how to handle them. One of them grabbed his crotch, and he yelped. "Okay, okay! Give me some air! Sheesh!" He tried gently pushing through them, but arms and breasts at every side of him held him prisoner. He was afraid to physically push any of them, lest he hurt someone or mistakenly touch a boob. A hand pinched his left buttocks, and he yelped again. He caught sight of Krystal, and with her, hope of escape. He mouthed a desperate "help!" to her, but she only smiled and shrugged.

Falco entered the door and cleared his throat loudly. "Ladies... your lucky day is here. I have arrived at long last."

A good half of Fox's intrusive circle of hormones left to chase the falcon, much to the fluffy tailed merc's relief. As the girls turned and left, he spotted his opening and he took it, diving through to freedom. He was at Krystal's side in three quick strides, and he wrapped his arm around her as he turned around to face the pursuing females.

"Sorry, ladies, this man's made his choice." He said. He softly kissed her on the lips, much to the chagrin of the wild fan-girls. They were not sad for long, however, as they caught sight of Falco. Fox stared at Krystal until her eyes met his. "Hi." He said.

She smiled. "Hi... Having fun?"

"I am now." He kissed her again. "Thanks for all your help back there." He said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"You are a grown man with military training, Fox. You cannot tell me that you are unable to handle a small group of desperate women."

"Ouch... touché."

Krystal turned her attention to Katt, who was giving Falco a deadly glare. The avian was too mixed up in entertaining his new entourage to notice her look, much to his misfortune.

"Hold these." The furious feline handed both her drinks to Fox and crossed the floor. Falco caught sight of her and raised his arm, but his hand was grabbed by one of the drooling girls.

Nearly halfway there, someone reached out and grabbed the feline's arm to stop her. "Katt? Is... is that really you?"

She turned to the stranger and froze, eyes wide. Her hand cupped over her mouth as she saw the vulpine's face. Tears filled her eyes.

Krystal watched all of this take place, and her curiosity peaked. The fox's back was turned to her. His fur was a rather unique shade of light orange, with a neat blue splotch on the top of his head.

Katt ran into his arms and embraced him. He held her tightly, stroking her hair.

"Is that... It.. it can't be." Krystal left Fox's arm and headed towards the familiar man.

"I'm so glad you're alive!" Katt cried. "How did you...?"

Krystal's heart was pounding harder with each step.

"I heard you were with the Star Fox team, and I was so happy. I wasn't sure what became of you after-"

"Kevin?"

He turned his head towards the blue colored girl that stood to the side of him with a wide grin. "Kryssy?"

"You-... you're alive!" She set her drinks on a shelf that was nailed to the wall and hugged him tightly.

Fox stood awkwardly behind her, unsure of what was happening.

"Fox, this is Kevin." Katt said. "He's her brother."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing too drastic was changed here. I did change the timeline for when Tony died, because it didn't make much sense that he died "years ago" but also right before Scales took over. Star Fox came in shortly after Scales rose to power. Queen EarthWalker did mention that Scales had made previous attacks in attempt to gain power, so it made more sense to use one of those attacks instead.


	25. Party

It took a moment for the emotional vixen to realize that her friend and her captain were beside her.

"He's her brother."

Krystal released the vulpine, slightly embarrassed for having ignored Fox so suddenly. He reached over and tenderly took Katt's hand.

"How did you survive?" Krystal inquired.

"I knew that the meteor was coming, so I ran to alert the village. I told dad, but it was too late to help everyone. He gave me the red staff and told me to run. The first round of meteors hit and a strange guy in a hood came out in the midst of everything. I tried to stop him, but he was too powerful. He threw my entire body into the forest. I was terrified, so I fled. My ship was gone. I assume one of you two took it." He winked, and Katt blushed deeply in shame. "But I had built a spare. It was the ship I was building for you, Katt. By a miracle, I'd finished it the day before that. It only needed to be switched on. I escaped right before the big meteor hit. I came to Corneria, and just recently I found out you were on the Star Fox team. I had to find you both."

Fox studied Kevin. He did somewhat resemble Krystal. His eyes were the same color as hers, and his pale orange fur had patches of blue. He wasn't incredibly tall for a male; he stood a good two inches below Fox, who wasn't particularly tall himself. As he talked, Fox couldn't mistake an accent nearly identical to Krystal's.

"So, how did you get here, Katt?" Kevin asked.

"Well… you know how your ship was gone?" She questioned timidly.

"Yeah."

"Well… I kind of… borrowed it… and crashed it." The feline admitted with a slightly fearful smile.

"Oh, great… The one ship I built that actually worked right. And Katt crashes it. Great…" He said in a sarcastic tone. He turned to Krystal. "I have to warn you about something. I know how this is going to sound, but... Tony's alive."

Krystal's heart skipped a beat.

"He made it off Cerinia," Katt said, "But he was killed on Sauria about a year ago."

"No, I... I know it's him. He's here, on Corneria."

"Are you sure it's not his brother? They look identical." Katt said.

Krystal hesitated. The amount of times she forgot Tony even had a brother was outrageous. "What was his name? It started with a C, I think. Colter? Collin?"

"It was Connor." Katt cut in, giving her a confused look.

Krystal blinked once and stared off to the side.  _Connor? That sounds an awful lot like-_

"He's alive, Krystal." Kevin said. "I know it's him." He turned to Fox. "Tony was Krystal's f-"

"Friend." Krystal interrupted. "I grew up with him." Her sibling gave her a questioning look, but decided against pursuing the matter.

Fox caught the other vulpine's glance, and made a mental note to ask his blue furred partner about it later.

"Look, we can just talk about it later in a more private setting. For now, we're all together and alive!" The blue and peach colored fox grinned widely. "Hey, Katt. I know it's been a long time, but... would you like to dance?"

Her eyes twinkled. "I'd love to."

"What's with them?" Fox asked.

Krystal rolled her eyes. "Katt and my brother had a sort of thing a while back. While she was on Cerinia, Kevin came to see me. He ended up staying for over a year because of her. The whole planet-being-destroyed thing sort of put a damper on it, though."

"Ah... Well, Falco's not going to be happy to hear about that."

"I don't think he'll even notice with all of the girls he's trying to entertain at the moment." Krystal looked over to Falco, who was now deeply regretting his decision to call attention to himself.

Fox chuckled. "Yeah, you have a point."

A girl ran up to Fox. "You're Fox McCloud!"

"Yeah, that's... me."

"Can I have your autograph?!"

He checked his blazer for a pen, and took out a permanent marker. "Sure."

To his shock and embarrassment, the girl stood next to him, sticking out her chest and pushing up her breasts with her hands.

Krystal's mouth hung open in shock.

Fox glanced at Krystal, but she didn't offer him an escape. He winced and carefully signed the eager girl's chest, doing his best to not make any skin contact with her. She screamed and ran off as he capped the pen. He shuddered. "Fans are the worst."

"Must have been a lot of fun before I came around."

Fox blushed lightly. "Actually, that was always more Falco's area... I would generally just attract the crowd and divert them to him. I'm not sure if you've noticed or not, but... I'm pretty awkward around women."

Krystal cracked a grin. "I've noticed." She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "You were never tempted?"

Fox shrugged with a slight grimace. "The kind of girls who come running after us for autographs and scream and cry and throw themselves on the ground for us... they aren't really my type. My last real girlfriend was in high school. She liked me for me, and not my father's fame, surprisingly."

"In high school? Isn't that for teenagers?"

Fox nodded, pursing his lips into a slight frown of embarrassment.

"My goodness, so you've not had a girl in years." She teased. "And here I thought you to be more of a play boy."

He shifted uncomfortably.

"What happened to her?"

"Distance, mostly. She went off to do her thing in the army, and then I got busy and famous with Star Fox. We couldn't find the time for a relationship together. We couldn't even find time to coordinate phone calls, so we broke it off. Last I heard, she settled down and got married a couple of years ago. Her name was Fara." Fox cleared his throat. "So uh, what about you? I'm sure I'm not the first guy to be drawn in by your beauty."

"Oh, I... I dunno." She blushed, glancing around at all of the strangers in the crowd.

"No one's listening. They all have their own conversations and things to do. Come on, I told you  _my_  dating history."

The cerulean furred fox sighed softly. "You're right, you did. I suppose you deserve to know." She took a deep breath. "Back on my planet, I grew up with a boy called Tony. Sometimes he could be real pain in the ass. But he was... sweet to me, usually." Thinking back, her memories of him seemed muddy. "Whenever we argued, he'd come and apologize later and be real sweet. When I was sixteen, he asked my father for my hand in marriage. But, he got more and more irritable as time went on, and I wasn't sure if I still wanted to marry him. I broke off the engagement. He came later that night and apologized to me for his behavior. His mother had been quite ill for years, and she had gotten a lot worse around that time. He told me the stress made him angry, but that it wasn't anything to do with me. He begged me for forgiveness and promised he'd check his anger better in the future. So I took him back. But not long after that, the village was destroyed.

"Kyte rescued me and took me to CloudRunner Fortress. General Scales had launched an attack, and I offered my help. But there were so many... I couldn't fight off the SharpClaws on my own. I was on the upper levels, you know? The area that just hangs over a sheer drop with rocks at the bottom. They had surrounded me. But out of nowhere, Tony appeared. He jumped in at my back and fought them off with me. There must have been at least twenty of them on just the two of us. We had them down to the last three. I killed the one attacking me, but... There were two SharpClaw fighting him. He killed one of them, but as he did, the second one slashed him open across the stomach."

She paused, biting her lip against the emotions that were stirring up. "As if that wasn't enough, him bleeding out, the SharpClaw tried to push him over the cliff. I stabbed it in the head with my staff, but... I should have gone for Tony. He lost his balance and fell. I caught him with my staff, but I was nearly falling off the edge myself. He could barely hold on through the pain, and I... I wasn't strong enough to pull him up with just one hand. I started to slip... and then he let go. He let go so that I could pull myself back up." Tears were forming in her eyes against her will.

Fox pulled her into a tight hug. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry."

She wrapped her arms around his waist and held tight. "I couldn't save him..."

"It's not your fault.  _He_  let go. That was his choice. And honestly, I would've done the same."

"But if I had just-"

Fox took her face in his hands and kissed her forehead. "You stop that. You'll tear yourself apart with the 'what ifs' and possibilities of what could have happened. You can't change the past, Krystal. Sometimes, bad things happen and people die, and there's nothing you can do to stop it from happening. What if you  _had_  gone for him instead of the SharpClaw? The SharpClaw would then be alive in that scenario, and he might have killed you as well. You can't go back and change the past. You can only live for the future." He kissed her softly on the lips. "I know it's selfish of me to say, but I'm glad you made every choice that you did. If even one thing had been different, I might not have met you." He tenderly stroked her cheek with his thumb, wiping away a tear.

Krystal smiled a bit. "Thank you, Fox."

"You know, parties are supposed to be happy events."

The vixen giggled, wiping her own tears away. "Yes, sorry. I didn't mean to get so emotional."

"Would you like to dance?"

"I'd love to."

"Well then, we should get some better music going." He walked up to the DJ and requested several songs. After a few seconds of him talking, the volume turned up.

The first song began to play, and some people began to bob their heads and dance to it. Fox walked back across the room and grabbed Krystal's hand, pulling her to the dance floor. Years of practicing alone in his own room were finally coming to good use.

Krystal picked up the beat of the song in a matter of seconds, and glanced around for an idea of what was acceptable dancing. The amount of variety was nearly endless, and she decided to just go with it. The number of people dancing increased vastly with Fox's music choice, and soon it felt more like a dance party.

The two foxes danced around each other, moving their feet, arms, and tails to the music. Krystal mixed in some hip movements, bringing a huge grin to Fox's face. The main thing he had learned about party dancing from watching the people around him was to never bob his chin forward. While most folks felt cool doing it, the move greatly resembled that of an unevolved chicken, and it was severely unattractive to look at. As long as he could abstain from that one thing, he appeared to be ten times better at dancing than he actually was.

After a few songs, Krystal was feeling out of breath. She leaned up to Fox's ear, "I'm a bit tired, I think I'm going to sit the next one out." He nodded and took her hand to escort her out of the now sardine-like crowd that had accumulated near the speakers. She leaned up against a wall to catch her breath.

"You're a really good dancer." He said over the music.

"You're not so bad yourself." She winked.

Falco grabbed Fox's arm, having finally escaped the throng of women. "Hey, have you seen Katt?" He yelled.

Fox shrugged. "I think she was dancing with some guy."

Falco's expression turned to one of anger. He stormed towards the main crowd of dancers.

Krystal's eyes widened. "I hope he's not going to hurt my brother, or I'll have to kill him."

The orange furred vulpine laughed. "He's  _your_  brother, I'm sure he can handle himself against Falco."

"You have a point..." The vixen shrugged. "I'm actually sort of interested in seeing who would win, now."

"I'm going to go get a drink real fast. Want anything?"

She shook her head. "I had one earlier."

"Refill?"

She hesitated. "Actually, it  _was_  quite good. I liked the rum punch."

"Coming right up." The fearless leader kissed her softly on the cheek and headed for the staircase.

Krystal caught sight of Kevin and Katt, and a few feet away from them, Falco. The avian looked to be yelling, waving his arms dramatically. Katt held her hands up defensively, trying to calm him. "Now this I've got to see." Krystal weaved through the crowd, eager to catch the drama. "Ow!" Someone rammed their shoulder against hers quite roughly as she passed.

"Sorry," the stranger said into her ear.

She froze dead in her tracks. Tingles went up her spine, raising every hair on the back of her neck. She turned around, catching only the back of the head of the stranger. He had orange fur and large pointy ears.  _I have to know... I have to know it wasn't him._  She followed him through the crowd, several people behind. He was tall, which made it slightly easier to keep track of him. He was heading away from the loud music, to the other end of the room.

He stopped in front of a purple-furred cat with a hat and large sunglasses who was lounging on a couch with a drink in her hand. "Look, we can't do this anymore." He said.

"What?! What are you saying?"

Krystal continued moving slowly through the sea of bodies, straining her ears to hear what he was saying.

"I can't stop thinking about her. I'm not over it yet. I'm positive that she's alive. And right now, I just can't love anyone else."

Krystal pushed through the last group between her and her target, now standing slightly disoriented three feet behind him. She stared at the back of his head, both dreading and anticipating a glimpse of his face. His presence was invisible to her, as if someone was blocking her from sensing it. The man in front of her had nothing about him for her to sense.

_It's not him. I'm just imagining it. I haven't heard his voice in over a year, there's no way I could recognize it so easily here with all of the noise going on. It's just my imagination running away. I'll just bump into him, just so that I don't have to think about it anymore, and then I'll say I thought he was someone else._

But then she heard it, and her heart crashed into her throat.

"Tony, don't do this. I don't want to lose you." The girl said.

_No, this can't be happening. This isn't possible. He's dead. I watched him fall. I watched him die._

Every sound in the room became a dull noise in the background. His voice was booming in her ears, as if there was nothing else in the world. "Look, I know she's out there. I'm sorry, but I don't love you. I never did."

Her knees buckled beneath her and she felt the world crash down around her as her body hit the ground.

"I'm still in love with Krystal."


	26. Bet

( **The Day Of The Party, 06:34AM Corneria Standard Time** )

Con slowly snuck around the corner, wary of his surroundings. Cloaky had done something to the building so that he could not enter without interacting with the doors. As far as he knew, time was still stopped for him. But to be safe, he stepped softly and made no noise. He needed to overhear what they were planning.

He attempted to become a ghost again, but it wasn't happening.

"What the hell?"

"Gotcha!" The girl's voice cried in triumph.

Before Con could react, a chain clinked around his ankles and cinched. His feet were dragged from under him and he hit the ground hard. "Ugh!"

The chain dragged him swiftly down the hall. "You're gonna kill me if I don't ghost!"

"So be it."

"He'll die, Vivian!" Con shouted. The dragging stopped. "If I die, he dies."

"We'll figure something out." She pulled him along into a room and slammed the door behind her.

Con winced as his wound opened. "I'm bleeding out! You need to let me go!"

She tied his hands behind his back. "Shut your face."

"I'm going to die!"

"I won't let that happen." She left the room as his blood soaked through his shirt and poured onto the floor.

He grunted in pain, spitting up more blood. "Please!" He choked out.

The woman he called Vivian returned to the room with a table and some medical equipment. She lowered the table to the floor and rolled him onto it, and then used the mechanics to lift it again. His hands were untied and then chained to the sides of the table. She ripped open the arm of his cloak and jabbed in an IV, and then opened a tray with several medical tools.

"You need to stay out of the way, and this is the only thing we could think of to make sure you couldn't meddle. Luckily the kid finished this little project before he bailed. I've never done this before. It's probably going to hurt."

( **Later That Evening, at The Party...** )

"I'm still in love with Krystal."

_This can't be happening._

The world faded into black for a short moment as she lay motionless on the floor.

"Krystal? Are you okay?" Both of Fox's hands were full with drinks. He was standing over her with a concerned look. He set down their drinks on a table nearby and helped her to stand up. "What happened?"

Her face was pale and her voice was dry. "He's alive..."

"What? Who is?"

"Tony... Kevin was right. I heard his voice. I-..." She took a step back and looked around. "He's gone now... Fox, I don't know what to do."

Fox set down her drink. "Are you sure it's him? His death was... pretty convincing."

"I... I don't know. I watched him die, Fox. But I heard him. I only saw the back of his head, but it's... it's his voice! And the girl he was talking to said his name. He told her he couldn't be with her, and he said  _my name._ He said my name, Fox."

The orange vulpine stood in place, unsure of how to react. "If he's really alive... what does that mean for us?"

"I don't know..." Tears spilled down the blue furred cheeks. "He was my fiance... but you're... I can't just... I don't know!" She buried her head in his chest.

"It's possible it was just someone who sounded like him. You didn't see his face, right?" Fox tenderly held her in his arms.

"No..."

"Maybe it was just someone who sounded like him. People don't just come back from the dead, Krystal."

She leaned back. "No, you're right." The back of her hand temporarily became a means to wipe away her tears. "You're right. I'm just being silly. It had to have been a coincidence. Kevin brought him up, and I've just been thinking about it too much." She reached for the drink Fox had brought her. "Thank you, Fox. I'm sorry about this." She took a long gulp.

He took her hand. "It's okay. Come on. Let's go find Katt."

"Good plan. I wanted to see how it went down between Falco and my brother."

Fox quickly found Falco, who was still arguing with Katt and Kevin.

"Are you kidding me?! I've never seen or heard about this guy and all of the sudden you two have a past?"

"I'm telling the truth, Falco." Katt sighed.

"And I mean,  _this guy_?  _Really_? And you're trying to tell me he's Krystal's brother?"

"I am Krystal's brother!" Kevin protested.

Krystal walked up beside her brother and took his arm. "Sorry you had to meet like this. Falco, this is my brother Kevin."

"You're in on it too?!" Falco cried angrily. "Look I know this is just some plot to make me jealous, okay, and it worked! You win! I'm jealous! Can we all cut the crap now?"

Fox elbowed him. "Cut it out, Falco. You're making a scene. They're telling the truth."

The avian groaned. "I just want my girl back."

" _Your_  girl?" Katt raised her eyebrows at him. "Excuse me, but, I don't remember that ever being a thing."

"I took you on a date!" The bird whined.

"One date, and I don't recall you asking to make it exclusive. In fact, as I recall, about ten minutes ago you were just rolling in the non-exclusiveness."

"That's what this is about? I was trying to get them off of Fox!"

"Oh, how noble of you to take that fall! You sure were enjoying yourself. If you're so upset about having no one to dance with, why don't you just go grab one of them again?" The feline crossed her arms.

"Katt, you know it wasn't like that."

Kevin shook his head. "You know, if you really love a girl, you don't let yourself get surrounded by other women. That's kind of a no-brainer."

"Katt, I'm sorry."

"I'll see you later, Falco." Katt turned to walk away.

Kevin shrugged at the bird and followed the feline.

"God, he really is your brother isn't he." The bird scoffed.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Fox snapped in the vixen's defense.

"Nothing. Just... Great." Falco shook his head and dissipated into the crowd of people.

"Well, that went well." Krystal said, wincing.

"It looks to me like Falco brought it on himself." Fox shrugged. Someone bumped him roughly from behind. He stumbled forward, nearly spilling his drink.

"Sorry! Are you okay? Hey, aren't you that mercenary, Star Fox?" The vulpine asked.

"I'm fine. You should be more careful." Fox replied, turning to the orangey intruder. "Star Fox is my team, not my name."

Krystal grabbed his arm tightly. Her eyes were wide, and the color had drained from her cheeks.

The intrusive vulpine glanced at her and froze. "K-... Krystal? It really is you."

"You're dead!" She uttered breathlessly.

"Well, not last time I checked, no." He looked down at himself, patting his chest and abdomen.

"I... I watched you die!" Tears formed in her eyes.

"I'm here now. And so are you. I've been searching for you. I heard on the news that you'd become a mercenary."

"Hang on-" Fox cut in. "You two know each other?"  _Please don't be him. Please don't be him. He doesn't even have an accent! It can't be him!_

"Kryssy and I go way back. She might have mentioned me. My name is Tony." The man offered his hand.

Fox hesitated. He shook the hand, and then immediately grasped Krystal's. "She mentioned that name once. I'm her boyfriend. My name is Fox McCloud, and I'm the lead pilot of the Star Fox team. But clearly you've heard of us."

Krystal was still at a loss for words. She gripped Fox's hand as if it were the only thing holding her to the planet under her feet.

"Well, this is awkward." Tony raised his eyebrows. "It just so happens that I'm her fiance."

The tension was so think that the air itself was difficult to breathe.

"Or at least, I was, years ago." Tony chuckled, relieving the tension. "An entire planet being destroyed sort of put a kink in those plans." He looked at Krystal. "For a while there, I thought you were dead, too. I don't blame you for moving on."

"How did you survive?" She asked.

"A ship landed in the midst of the meteors. A guy in a cloak hopped out, and I hopped in."

"No, after that."

He hesitated. "I piloted to a space station."

"I want to know how you survived on Sauria, and why you didn't come find me after the fact."

He shook his head, giving her a questioning look. "Sauria? Wait,  _you_  were on Sauria?"

Krystal frowned. She set her jaw to ward off more tears. "I fought the SharpClaw at the CloudRunner Fortress, single-handedly, until  _you_  showed up and helped me. And then you... died... in battle."

He shook his head. "It wasn't me. I didn't even know you went to Sauria."

"Then who was it?"

Tony paused for a few minutes, deep in thought. "You know... there's a gap about a year ago that I don't remember. I remember piloting off of Cerinia, and I remember being at the space station. I don't remember anything that happened in between that time."

Fox narrowed his eyes.  _He's lying! He's making that up. I can tell._

"Show me your scar."

"What?"

"On your stomach. Show me."

He lifted his shirt to reveal a gnarly scar that cut from side to side on his well-toned abs. "This?"

Krystal was silent for a moment. "You don't remember?"

"I'm sorry. When I woke up, I was in the hospital at the space station. They had already sewn me up. I figured I must have been wounded leaving the planet. I don't remember anything that happened in between."

She looked down. "I believe you." Her hand tightened again around Fox's fingers. He gave her hand a slight squeeze of support. "So your brother is alive, then?"

"Connor?" The vulpine tensed up. "I haven't seen him. I really couldn't tell you." He turned to his rival. "Fox, I believe we have something to settle." The tension returned.

Fox looked Tony up and down. He was buff and he was tall, at least two inches taller than Fox. Probably three if Fox slouched at all. Green eyes with a blueish tint. He looked like he had definitely been in a fight or two, but then, Fox had proven himself once to be stronger than the strongest dinosaur in the LightFoot Tribe, one on one. If he needed to fist fight this guy in order keep Krystal, so be it.

"Do you love her?"

The question caught him off guard. He had thought about it once or twice, but he had never been faced with the need to say it. He looked over at Krystal, who was just as surprised by the question as he was.

His dream a few nights back came back to him, and he remembered his father's voice.  _When_ _I saw her face for the first time, I wanted nothing more than to be close to her and make her happy as long as I lived. That's what love feels like, son._

"Now, that's not fair." Krystal began. "He only just met me a few weeks ago. You can't just ask someone something like th-"

"Yes." Fox interrupted.

"Well, then. That makes two of us. I think maybe we should have a talk. Outside."

"You're not going to fight!" Krystal shouted, loud enough for people several feet away to hear over the music. "Don't you dare! I swear to you I will-"

"Calm down. We're just going to talk." Tony said. "But I'd rather this be a... man-to-man conversation."

The two foxes walked out the door, leaving Krystal alone inside the party.

"Look," Tony began as they entered the quietness of the outdoors. "I can tell you care for her. If I were a better man, maybe I'd just let you two be happy together. But I'm selfish with her, and I want her for myself. I can't very fairly invoke the fact that I was engaged to her years ago to steal her away from you. I don't think she'd even come with me if I did that. So, I have a deal to make with you. I don't want to have a physical fight. Krystal would never be okay with that, and we'd probably both end up losing her. Instead, a battle of abilities. Of... prowess. Krys needs to choose one of us herself. I know her pretty well, and I know that she's only ever slept with one man in her life. She did it because she loved him. Now, the heart can't very well love two people at the same time. If she were to have sex with one of us, I'd say that counts as winning. Cerinian women take that sort of thing very seriously. She won't give it up easily."

"So, you want a race to see who can get in her pants faster?" Fox asked, entirely unamused.

"It sounds so dark when you put it like that... Hear me out. Cerinian women only give their entire bodies to the person they've chosen as their life partner."

"Didn't you say she'd already slept with someone?"

"That's beside the point. He's out of the picture."

"Then how would you know?"

"Because I know who it was. Can you just focus on the point here?"

"It sounds too much like either a plan to get laid or a plan to make me look bad so you can be the hero."

"It's a plot to win her heart. She won't give her body to someone who doesn't have her heart. When she gives up her body, we'll have a winner."

"I guess..." Fox crossed his arms.

"Now, Krys is a girl. And when girls find out that guys have talked about things like this, they get very angry. Krys is also a telepath. If she reads your mind and finds out about this, both of us are going to be in really deep trouble."

"She reads my mind whenever she feels like it. I don't hide things from her."

Tony inhaled slowly. "In any case, this is something you're going to have to hide from her, for your own safety. If you wear this," he took a small clip out of his pocket and held it out, "she won't be able to read your mind."

"The minute she finds she can't read my mind, she's going to suspect something."

"You don't have to tell her. Pretend you know nothing about it."

"So you want me to lie to her,  _and_  try to get into her pants? What is this, some kind of joke? How stupid do you think I am?"

"Calm down. I'm wearing one too." Tony showed the small clip inside the collar of his shirt. "How else are we going to know where her heart lies? If she just says she cares about one of us, what if she changes her mind? This is a sure way to know which one of us has won."

Fox slowly reached for the clip. "And how will we know the other one of us isn't making it up?" He asked, holding the clip in his palm.

Tony paused for a moment. "When one of us has actually won, we can just ask her who she's chosen, and she'll have a clear answer. When we go back in, we'll tell her the partial truth; that the choice is hers. May the best man win."

( **Meanwhile...** )

Krystal hurried through the crowd, looking eagerly for peach colored fur. She found him in a matter of minutes. "Kevin!"

He turned around from talking to Katt. "Are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I have... Tony's alive."

"Shit, are you serious?"

"He's here. He's outside, and him and Fox are talking."

"What're they talking about?"

"I don't know!" Krystal threw herself into his body, hugging him tightly. "I'm so afraid that they're going to force me to choose between them and I just... what if I make the wrong choice? And Tony can be violent when he doesn't get his way. What if I choose Fox? What if he kills Fox? And if I choose Fox how am I supposed to explain to him? He said he loves me!"

Kevin held his sister tightly. "It's okay. Look, Fox is a trained mercenary. He can defend himself. Tony can't be trusted, Krystal. You can't be alone with him."

Krystal barely heard him through the noise and her own panic. "They're going to make me choose! I'm so scared! I don't want to loose Tony again, but I... I don't want to lose Fox!"

"Shit, they're coming..."

The vixen released her grip on her brother, but held tightly to his hand. He stiffened considerably as Tony made eye contact.

"Kevin, long time no see." Tony shook the smaller fox's hand. "We have some... catching up to do, after this party." He then turned to Krystal to talk over the music. "Fox and I have come to an agreement. We're going to give you time to think about it, and when you feel you're ready to choose, let both of us know. In the meantime, I guess you're going to be.. sort of dating both of us, because neither of us want to let you go. That is, if it's alright with you."

Krystal tilted her head slightly at Fox. She had become accustomed to feeling his presence around her, but now it was gone. She could feel every person around her except for Fox and Tony. "Yes, I... I suppose that's alright." Her cyan eyes scanned the room. "I think I'm a little worn out, now. I'm going to go back to the hotel. Have a good night, you two."

Fox raised his arm to stop her, but hesitated. He wanted nothing more than to hold her in his arms and kiss her tenderly, but he was afraid that if he did, Tony would see him as more of a threat and step up his game. He excused himself and followed her outside instead.

"Krystal!"

She turned around. Her hands clung to her upper arms, as if she was cold. Her breath was a visible cloud in the crisp night air.

"Here..." Fox took off his blazer and wrapped it around her shoulders. "So, I guess this means I'm not... your boyfriend anymore..." She didn't respond. "Look, I... I'm not going to lie. I don't want you to choose him."

"You told him you love me."

He was silent for a few seconds, staring at her face. "I did, didn't I." It was more of a statement than a question.

"Is that true?"

"Yes." He reached up and gently touched her face with his fingers. "I love you, Krystal."

Her eyes met his, and she held his gaze for a few seconds. His words felt empty while she couldn't feel his thought patterns. A cab pulled up behind her. "Goodnight, Fox."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has been nipped and tucked for your viewing pleasure, with some loopholes erased for better continuity.
> 
> Tony: You all know she'll choose me, right?
> 
> Fox: Puhleeeease! You? You're such a jer-! -Gets punched in the jaw- OW! Why you… -is preparing to sock Tony in the face-
> 
> Tony: Bring it, loser!
> 
> Me: Okay, break it u-…! -Is clonked in the face- Ow… they broke it… -Has a black eye … they keep fighting-


	27. Nightmare

"HAA!" The vixen shouted, swiping to her left and knocking over a SharpClaw. One to her right lunged for her, and she blocked him with her staff.

_There's too many of them._

She struck forward, skewering the brains of another SharpClaw on the staff's pointed edge. She was barely able to recover the weapon from its inner skull in time to block another blow from behind.

_I'm surrounded._

In front of her, beyond several armed SharpClaw, there was a sheer drop into nothingness. "HYAA!" She spun the staff, urging the vicious dinosaurs to take a step back, and brought the weapon down on the skull of another one. Behind her lie the rest of the Fortress, and more than likely, more SharpClaws. They were after the Queen.

_I'm going to die here._

"RAH!" She started at the sudden noise that came from behind her. She dared a glance over her shoulder. A fox was at her back, wielding a sword that had been dropped by one of the larger grunts. He had already taken out two of the beasts, and was working on a third.

Krystal threw herself into the battle with renewed energy.

_You won't take me out this time._

She managed to shove two of them off the edge, coming dangerously close to it herself, and spun around for another attack. Her staff felt light and eager. She was half convinced that if she had left it to its own agenda, it would have animated itself and taken out the hoard on its own. It didn't take long to dwindle the numbers of the SharpClaw. As it stood, there were only two left in front of her. She glanced over her shoulder. Her mysterious ally was fighting two as well. He struck down one of them and glanced up at her.

_Is that...?_

"Krystal! Look out!" The fox cried. His hand grabbed her arm and jerked her in a circle around him, sending her stumbling towards the fortress. She used the momentum to skewer the SharpClaw her friend had left behind.

_No...not this dream..._

She turned around, sure he had handled the last two by now. He slashed at the last one, but was blocked by the last SharpClaw's sword. The intensity of his own blow backfired, causing him to stumble backwards. The SharpClaw took the opportunity to strike, drawing a quick slash across the fox's unprotected stomach.

"NO!" Krystal screamed, running for the SharpClaw. It lunged forwards, knocking the fox back towards the edge. Krystal's staff pierced through the skull of the beast, and she looked to her friend.

She recognized the fox now. He was toppling backwards, as if in slow motion, as she shortened her staff out of the grunt's brain and vaulted over his falling body. She dove towards the fox as he fell, extending her staff in one smooth motion.

Her upper body tipped over the edge, and she reached back with her left hand to steady herself and keep from falling over.

The fox's hands grabbed the edge of her staff, and he looked up at her.

"Hold on!" She cried. She grimaced, trying to shift herself backwards and pull her torso back onto the ledge.

"You can't hold me." The fox said. He coughed, and blood trickled out of his mouth. The blood from his wound had soaked his shirt and was beginning to color the front of his pants. He let go with one hand and placed it over his stomach. "You can't pull both of us up..."

"Yes I can! You need to hold on!" Krystal edged backwards an inch.

"Krystal... I'm gonna let go."

"Don't you dare!" She turned her head sideways. "KYTE! KYTE!" She screamed.

"Krystal... I have to let go."

"No!" She struggled harder, straining her muscles to pull her upper body up.

"Stop! Stop-" He choked up more blood. "Stop struggling. You can't pull me up, Krystal."

"Yes, I can! You can't let go, please! Please don't let go! You're all I have... Without you I'm completely alone!" Her eyes began to tear up.

"It's okay, Krystal. You're strong. You can make it. You don't need me."

"You saved my life... If you hadn't jumped in, I would have died."

"You're all good from here. I believe in you."

"I can't... I can't do this! I can't save them alone..."

"You can do it." His fingers started to slip.

"NO! Don't leave me!" She began to wiggle her legs, slowly propelling her body backwards. "I've almost got it, I'm going to pull you up! Tony, hold on!"

"I'm not..." He gasped in pain. "I love you, Krystal... I'm sorry."

" _NO!_ "

Krystal sat straight up in bed with a gasp. "No!" She ruffled the blankets, slightly disoriented. The sheets stuck to her body, which was covered in sweat. She threw them off and jumped to the carpet. Her hands were trembling.

"Con! Con!" She ran into the kitchen. "Con, if you're there, please!"

Nothing happened. Krystal dropped to her knees and began to sob.

A soft knock caught her attention, and she looked up towards the door that connected her room with Fox's.

"Krystal?" His voice was quiet, muffled, but filled with concern.

She stood up, wiping her eyes on her arms and grabbing a tissue off the kitchen to blow her nose.

"Krystal, are you okay?"

"Yes..." She walked to the door and pressed her hand to the pad. It clicked open.

"I heard you scream, and I wanted to make sure you were safe." He blushed lightly at the sight of her in her underwear.

"I... I had a nightmare."

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Fox asked.

She started as if she were going to run into his arms, but hesitated.

He took a step towards her and held out one arm, and she took the last two steps into his chest.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry, I didn't want to cry in front of you again tonight."

"It's okay... everyone cries sometimes. It's been a hard day for you. I don't mind at all, really."

"You must think I'm such a cry-baby." She sniffled and wiped her eyes with her fingers. "The last few times you've seen me, I've been crying."

"You can cry every time you see me, for the rest of your life, as long as you promise to always be in my life." He kissed her forehead and wiped a fresh tear from her cheek. "Are you feeling any better?"

"Yes, thank you. Every once in a while, I have a bad dream about my past... Tonight, it figures, I dreamed I was on Sauria again, watching Tony die. And I can't... I can't help but wonder how he managed to survive. He had blood dripping down his legs from his stomach wound. He was barely even able to hold on... When he let go, part of it was to save me from falling too, but part of me thinks he let go because he couldn't hold on any longer. How could anyone survive that? Not just the wound, but... the fall. He fell so far... and there were just rocks at the bottom. How would anyone from the Space Station find him? You're the first Cornerian that Sauria had ever seen."

"That does sound pretty tough to explain. Especially when he doesn't remember any of it."

"I'm sorry... I'm sure the last thing you want to do is talk about him."

Fox shrugged. "Well, if it means talking to you," he began.

Krystal blushed slightly. "You're sweet."

"Anything you want to talk to me about, I'll listen. If you want to talk about past lovers, or your nightmares, or... anything, really. I feel sort of pathetic saying it, but I just... I want to be around you, and if that means talking about something that might make me uncomfortable, then so be it. I really care about you, Krystal. If you need me for any reason, even if it's just to talk, please don't be afraid to ask me."

She wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned her head on his shoulder, nuzzling his neck with her nose. "Fox, I... I don't know how to ask you this, but I don't want to fall asleep alone tonight."

Fox hesitated for a few seconds. His heart beat quickened.  _Calm down... she's had a nightmare. There's no way you're going to win so soon into this. Shit, I'm not wearing the clip. Think of something else. Think of something else. Respond!_  He cleared his throat. "Well, I mean, you've had a nightmare. I can't really say no to you. You can stay the night with me, if you'd like."

"Thank you..." She kissed his cheek and released his waist.

The vulpine's pulse raced as he took her hand and led her to his messy bed. "I'm gonna get a drink of water. You can get comfortable." He walked into the kitchen and poured himself some water. The clip had been fastened to his tie. He took it off and clipped it to the inside of his boxer-briefs.

It only took him a minute to return to her, but when he did, she was curled in the warm spot he'd left behind, fast asleep.

( **A few hours later** )

The cyan eyed vixen stared up at the ceiling. She wasn't sure how long she had been awake; she only knew that the sun was awake now as well. The sound of soft breathing from beside her rang in her ears, assuring her that the night before had not been a dream.

She turned her head slightly, pulling her cyan irises from their gaze on the ceiling, and instead placing their sight on the sleeping fox to her right. His face was turned towards her, with his mouth open slightly. He slept on his belly, with one arm stretched out in her direction and the other arm behind him, bent at the elbow with his hand tucked under his hip. His right leg was stretched sideways towards his belly, and his left leg lay straight, tangled in the sheets that he had tried to kick off in his sleep.

The fearless mercenary, Fox McCloud. Feared by many, respected by all.

The vixen couldn't help but smile. How could anyone be afraid of someone who looked so adorable in their sleep?

_I think I'm falling in love with him..._

The smile faded as she noticed that once again, she couldn't feel his presence, and she turned her head back to the ceiling. A long sigh preceded her efforts to sit up. She thought she had heard a knock, but it came from far away. She stood up and walked slowly back into her room through the door that connected her kitchen with Fox's. She closed her door behind her and walked to the main door that led to the hotel hallway. She didn't sense anyone, but there came another knock.

She pressed the peek button, and the small screen on the door flickered to life. A fox stood outside; it was Tony. She frowned, walking towards the closet to find clothes. After so long apart, she wasn't sure she felt comfortable in her underwear around him. Especially since she couldn't sense his thought patterns. She slipped into a snug pair of black yoga pants and clipped on a bra beneath her white t-shirt.

The door clicked as it opened.

"Hi, Krystal."

"How did you know I was here?" She asked.

"I followed you home, obviously." He laughed as she gave him a concerned stare. "I'm joking. I asked Katt."

She gave an uncomfortable chuckle.

"Can I come in?"

"I guess so. You came all this way." She opened the door and closed it behind him.

"Wow, nice room. You've done well for yourself."

"Well, I'm only a part of the most famous mercenary team in the entire galaxy."

"Right, Star Fox, heroes of Lylat." Tony said dryly. "How'd you manage that?"

"When the meteor shower started, I flew to Sauria with a CloudRunner. General Scales was just starting his long effort to overthrow the planet. I did my best to thwart his efforts alone, but I was eventually captured in the Krazoa Palace. The General of the Cornerian Army discovered Sauria around this time, and he enlisted Star Fox to help put the pieces of the planet back together. Fox rescued me in the process, and he'd heard that I had helped in trying to stop Scales. He asked me to join the team."

"So, you basically just hopped on board with a bunch of strangers?"

"I'm telepathic, Tony. It's not like they're dangerous." She realized what she had just said, and continued, "I mean, they're deadly mercenaries, but I'm safe with them. It's almost like I'm more safe that way, because they'll protect me."

"I understand. I almost forgot you were telepathic."

"Aren't you?"

"I was." He hesitated. "Something happened a few years ago and I haven't really been able to use my telepathy since."

"Oh. I'm sorry." She said.  _That could explain why I can't sense him at all. But... what about Fox?_

He shrugged. "Eh, shit happens."

Krystal turned and walked into the kitchen. She was hungry, and she wasn't about to miss a meal just to talk.

"So, I came to ask you on a date."

"Is that so?"

"I wanted to take you to a nice dinner tonight. And maybe a movie."

The vixen stared at the limited options on the machine that made food, momentarily zoning out with thoughts of the date Fox had taken her on just a few days prior. She blinked twice, pressed the button for waffles, and turned to face Tony. "That sounds nice."

"Are you free tonight?"

The machine dinged, and Krystal turned to get her plate.  _Maybe I should have tried their room service again._ The waffles were plain and small. "I'm not sure. The General has the team on stand-by for potential missions."

"Well, if he hasn't said anything by tonight, can you join me?"

She smiled, setting her plate on the counter and seating herself on a high stool. "It's a possibility. I can't give you a direct answer though. If I say yes, there's a chance I won't be able to make it."

"I'll take that chance."

"If you'd like anything to eat, help yourself. That machine works as some sort of instant room service."

"I'm fine, but thank you. I ate before I came."

"I hope you don't mind me eating. I just got up when you knocked." She took a bite of the bland, rubbery waffle.

"Go right ahead. I hope I didn't wake you."

"No, I was awake... I just hadn't got out of bed."

"Ah, I see. I'm not bothering you, am I?"

"Not at all. It's good to see you after so long." She smiled and then took another bite of her disappointing breakfast.

He shrugged. "I guess I just wanted to see you as soon as possible. I mean, I haven't seen you in over a year. I really thought for a while that you might have died. It was kinda hard to not think that way after I left Cerinia... So many people were dead."

Krystal stopped eating, staring at the bite of food that her body was cursing. "I wonder... I wonder if anyone is still alive there."

"It's not likely. Everything was in chaos when I left... the fires had taken out most of the buildings in the village, and the dinosaurs from the forest had broken through the fence. I barely escaped with my life. I can't imagine that anyone could have survived after that."

The vixen stared at the uneaten bite of waffle. "Can we...talk about something else?"

"I'm sorry. Uh... so, what's it like being with Star Fox?"

"I like it. I like it a lot. I feel like I'm a part of something. Even though I'm just the new member, they treat me like family. We had a mission on Katina. Someone sent out a distress call and a trap, and no one knew it was a trap. The whole team just rushed in, and all of the sudden enemy fighters were all over the sky. Fox went into the base, and I ended up following him after a little while. I was uh, detained on the Great Fox for the beginning of the mission. But I ended up saving his tail, and then we had a good battle with Star Wolf. They're our rivals." Krystal's eyes lit up while she talked. She paused for a bite of waffle. "I'm really excited to be going on another mission. I guess Venom's relationship with Lylat is pretty tense, and with their numbers here growing everyone is worried they're going to attack. Of course, if they do, Star Fox will be right there to beat their faces in and send them back to hell."

"You seem really happy."

"I think it's the best thing that's ever happened to me, honestly."

Tony turned and looked over the room more carefully. "This really is a nice room. Everything's state of the art. And that view..."

Krystal finished her waffle and placed her plate in the sink. "So, where were you going to-" A knock at the door interrupted her, and she went to answer it.

It was Fox. "Krystal, we've received a message from General Pepper. There's a mandatory team meeting right now in Slippy's room."

"Oh," she turned to Tony. "I'm sorry, I can't really..."

"No, it's fine."

"Would you mind waiting outside?"

He walked up to her and handed her a slip of paper with a number. "I have some things I need to do anyways. Call me when you're done." He gave a sideways glance to Fox, and then planed a kiss on her cheek.

Krystal avoided eye contact with Fox as they entered Slippy's room.

"I've got General Pepper's message here." The frog announced as the last two team members arrived in his living room. He pressed the button, and the General's face appeared on the flat screen.

"General Pepper here! I have a new mission for you, Star Fox. Suspicious activity has spiked on the planet Titania near the desert outpost. The workers there in the lab have reported several disappearances and strange activity in the sand. This isn't big enough yet to warrant military involvement, but I'm afraid that what's going on under the surface is a lot worse than what it seems. The only lead we have is a witness in the Titania desert outpost. She claims she saw a group of ten people disappear into thin air while walking out in the sand. Find out what happened to those scientists! If there is any connection to the increased Venom activity, contact me immediately! Pepper out."

"You heard the General. Let's move out." Fox said. "I want to be in orbit on Titania by 1800 hours."

Krystal packed her clothes into plastic bags taken from the hotel room kitchen. She hadn't thought to buy a suitcase. Her entire wardrobe still only filled four small trash bags. She picked up the phone from the counter and dialed the number Tony had given her.

It rang twice.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Tony."

"Krystal. What's going on?"

"Well, I'm not going to make it for that date tonight. Sorry. We're heading to Titania as soon as everyone's packed."

"That soon, huh?"

"Yeah. Sorry. Maybe next time."

"Let me know when you're back in town."

"I will."

"Bye."

"Bye." She hung up, and looked over the room. The last thing she grabbed was the stone from the dresser drawer. She tucked it into her bra and exited the room.


	28. Prisoner

The Great Fox soared through the large green bubble of the Warp Gate. At the other end lay the beautiful golden brown planet Titania. Rob set the ship in orbit.

Krystal had already unpacked most of her things. She sat on her bed, holding her staff and giving herself a pep talk about the mission.  _It's going to be alright. Sure, everyone almost died on Katina. But this is different. This is a new planet. We have a plan here. We're just investigating. It's going to be alright._

"It's going to be alright." She said out loud.

"Oh, I wouldn't count on that."

The vixen leapt to her feet, staff drawn and aimed at the intruder.

The cloaked figure laughed. "That's not going to hurt me at all. Nor is it going to stop me from taking you."

"You leave me alone!" Krystal shouted, hoping someone would hear her and come to her aid.

"Oh, no one's going to hear you. These walls are sound-proof. Your beloved captain got tired of hearing Falco's conquests screaming all night. No one can hear anything that goes on while the door is closed."

The cyan eyed girl swung her staff at the cloaked man and rolled for the door. She slammed her hand against the button to open it and then gasped as something stung her neck. Upon reaching up to feel the stinging area, a small dart was discovered. She looked into the red eyes. "What did you-..." Her vision blurred and the room began to spin. She screamed, and then she collapsed.

The cloaked figure ran for the door and locked it, and then he picked up the limp body at his feet. "Let's see how well your team does without you."

( **Meanwhile...** )

Fox jumped out of his chair on the bridge. He looked at Falco, whose expression was just as concerned as his feelings. "Did you hear that?"

"If you're talking about what sounded like Krystal's blood curdling scream, yeah."

"Let's go!" Fox bolted down the hallway to Krystal's room. The door was shut and locked. He pounded on it. "Krystal! Are you in there?" When there was no response, he pressed the voice command button on his wrist. "Captain's override, room four. Unlock door." The door clicked and slid open. The leader drew his blaster. "Krystal?"

There was no response.

"Fox, her staff is there."

"I saw it. It looks like she drew it with intent to fight." He stepped in cautiously, and surveyed the room. "No one's in here. Falco, go to the bridge and find her location."

"On it." The bird left the room at a jog.

Fox walked around the room a second time, checking under the bed and in the closet. He was about to leave when something crunched under his feet. Startled, he stepped back and examined the ground. A partially shattered dart capsule lay on the ground. He picked up the part of it that was still intact. A small bit of the juice was still in the capsule. He grabbed Krystal's staff, shortened it, and walked swiftly to the bridge. "Rob! Analyze the liquid in this for me." He handed the capsule to the robot.

"I've got Krystal's location," said Falco. "She's on Titania."

"The intruder must have used a short range teleport. Rob, have you got anything?"

"My sensors indicate the dart was filled with a sleep-inducing serum." Rob replied in monotone.

"That settles it. They shot her with that dart so that she couldn't fight back." Fox turned to Falco. "Send her coordinates to my arwing. I'm going after her."

"Fox, we're supposed to go down as a team to investigate the planet."

"Our team member is down there! Someone kidnapped her! I'm not going to sit around and wait for any reason, nor am I going to risk the rest of my team's life. I'm going after her. If I'm not back by 0600, start the mission without me." He walked swiftly to the docking bay, hopped into his arwing, and shot out of the docking bay towards the planet.

Krystal's signal appeared on his arwing's screen.  _I'm coming for you... stay alive. Please, stay alive._

( **Meanwhile…** )

Krystal moaned as she slowly regained consciousness. Her head throbbed painfully, and her limbs felt heavy and numb. She opened her eyes slowly and looked around. She was lying on the floor in an empty room. It had no windows, no doors, and no furnishings. Aside from a slight glow from what she assumed was the crack under the door, the room was void of light. She sat up on the cold, hard floor and tried to adjust her eyes, but there was no light to feed off of. She closed her eyes and relaxed, trying to sense where she was. There were several others in the nearby areas, but she didn't recognize their thought patterns. She closed her eyes and focused on the minds around her.

_"I hate this job. I really, really hate this job. Anything would be better than this. I'd rather shovel shit out of an alley than be here. If I don't get paid soon I'm going to hang myself."_

Krystal sighed and focused on another.

_"I can't believe I did it! The bio-weapons are perfect. There are enough of them now to overrun the planet, and by the time that's done, I'll have engineered enough to wipe out the Cornerian army!"_

The vixen's muscles stiffened.  _Bio-weapons? That's not good._

_"If that fucking cat bosses me around one more time I'm gonna smash her pretty little face in with this gun. I'm not even gonna shoot her I'm just going to beat her to death."_

Krystal winced at the graphic image.  _That looks like that one girl..._

_"I hate the desert. Of all the places to be stationed, why Titania? I don't like sand. It's coarse, and rough, and irritating..."_

"So... I'm on Titania." She muttered to herself.

"Congratulations, genius."

She gasped at the sudden voice.

The owner of the voice coughed violently. "You're awake, finally."

"How long was I out?"

"Not more than a few hours..." More coughing. His voice was familiar, but severely strained and weak. "Mind lighting the room?"

"How?"

"Blue mystical power... sound familiar?"

Krystal held out her hands and focused. A white shield appeared, giving off enough light to see the four corners of the room.

"Ugh- not my face!"

She turned to the man, who was covering his face with his arm. He was chained to the wall by both feet and hands. His clothes were covered in blood, and his stomach had a gruesome gash that had been carelessly stitched up.

Her face twisted in disgust of the wound. "...Con?"

"Yeah... it's me."

"What happened to you?"

"They trapped me. I can't get out, or ghost. If I could just leave this goddamn building, I could heal."

"How do we escape?"

He coughed violently, spitting blood onto the floor. "Well, if we could start on my chains, that would be great. Unfortunately, the bad guys didn't leave any... crowbars or keys around." He seemed a bit out of breath, though he had clearly not moved in quite a while.

Krystal looked around the room. There was not even a table or a chair, and she herself had an ankle chain that attached to the wall. "Well... I could try to use my power."

"If you had pinpoint accuracy, that might work, but as it is you might end up killing me."

She turned to her chains and released the shield she had for light. A small flicker of light appeared in the loop of one of the chains. She quickly expanded it, breaking the chain's link apart. She turned to Con with a grin. "You were saying?"

"Actually, good job..." He coughed again.

Krystal carefully broke the cuffs off her wrists and ankles, then stood up and walked over to him. His cloak was gone. He was dressed in a bloodstained beige shirt and brown pants. She carefully broke his restraints off with her energy. "Can you stand?"

"I don't think I have a choice. But first... Put out that light."

She obeyed. The sound of cloth tearing reached her ears.

"Okay."

When the vixen re-lit the room, Con had turned his shirt into a face mask.

She stared uneasily at the wound on his stomach.  _It's in the exact same place as Tony's scar..._

"Staring at it isn't going to make it better. Can you get us out of here?" He slowly got to his feet.

"I hate to break it to you, but I haven't got the keys."

"Just break down the door."

"That's going to draw a lot of attention."

"I'll handle it. Just go." He coughed again.

"You don't look like you can handle anything."

"Just...open...the door."

Krystal charged up a blast of white energy and unleashed it at the door. Just as she thought she hadn't given it enough time to charge, the energy crashed through the door, tearing out chunks of the wall with it.

"Damn. You've been practicing."

"I haven't, actually. I have no idea where that came from."

"Over there!" A voice yelled. The sound of people in boots running reached the cell. Con limped out onto the rubble of the door. He charged a blast of dark blue energy and unleashed it in either direction, knocking down the guards on both ends of the silver hallway.

"I don't think I can do that again..." He said weakly. His skin was deathly pale beneath his fur. "I was really hoping that I'd be able to ghost outside of this room."

Krystal walked out into the hall. "Give me a minute." She closed her eyes, plotting out a route by using the people in the base as plot points on a map. She quickly memorized the way out through the placement of the people and the images in their minds.

"I've got it. This way." Krystal led Con slowly down the hall. The lights on the ceiling were stark white, and the walls were a light shade of silver. In contrast to the dark cell, everything in the hall was blinding. "Are you doing alright?"

"Under the circumstances? I'm alive..." He coughed up more blood.

"Well, let's hope that lasts." Krystal extended her hand and blasted away another few guards. The energy hardly seemed to have any blue tint, and it was doing far more damage than she remembered. "I don't remember this working so well last time I used it."

"Have you come in contact with the stone? It can enhance your powers."

"The st-..." The vixen cut herself off with her own thoughts.  _Where did I put it? I know I took it out of the hotel room, but then... did I ever put it back in the Great Fox?_ She reached a hand up to the center of her bra and pushed. She was rewarded with the shape of the stone. "Oh..." _  
_

"Look out!"

Two guards with stun guns jumped around the corner and shot her. Krystal fell backwards, eyes wide. The stun gun allowed one to remain conscious, but all movement of limbs or mouth was temporarily disabled. She crashed into the floor like a rag doll. The impact sent the stone flying out from her shirt.

Con dove for it as the guards recharged their stuns. He grasped the stone with one hand and shot a white blast of energy at the guards with the other in one smooth motion before his body even hit the ground. The wounded vulpine groaned in pain, clutching the stone close to his chest. He coughed up more blood, and turned to look at Krystal. Her eyes were wide with fear.

"Ugh... why isn't it healing me?" He asked aloud, slowly getting to his feet. "Can you move?" He asked. It was a pointless question. She had been shot  _twice_  with stun gun charges. He coughed again, and then began to pull himself to his feet.  _I've got to just get...out of the area he fixed..._  He walked over to Krystal and knelt down, still clutching the stone in his fists. He placed one arm beneath her head and the other behind her knees and slowly lifted her up.

Two more guards ran around the corner. "Freeze!"

Without so much as moving a finger, Con sent a blast of white light in their direction. He clenched his teeth and walked forward.

"Is there anything you can do to help me figure out the way out?" He asked. Her head rolled slightly and she glared at him. "Well, that's something." He stifled a cough, not wanting to accidentally spit blood on her. He carried her down the next hallway, where they came to a 4-way split. Another cough tickled his throat, and he set her down gently on the ground. "Sorry..." He managed, coughing up blood onto the floor.

Four guards ran towards them. "Hands up!" One yelled.

Con sent a wave of white energy their way without so much as blinking. Krystal made a mental note to ask him how he was able to do that. He picked her up again.

"I...I can sort of...feel my face..." The immobile vixen said in a soft, slurred voice.

"Good. Now you can just tell me where to go."

"Straight."

Con walked down the hall.

"Right."

He turned and flung more guards out of the way.

"Up there..."

He slowly walked up a flight of stairs, one at a time.  _Any time now, brother.. you can't ghost proof the entire base, can you?_  He made it to the top of the stairs, where there was another split in paths.

"Right." Krystal said. Her voice was hardly louder than a whisper.

The wounded fox kept walking. He squeezed the stone in his palm as tightly as he could, turning his knuckles white. His own nails dug into his skin, but he welcomed the distraction from the pain in his stomach.

"You look bad..."

"Yeah, I've lost a lot of blood. It happens." He grunted, struggling to focus through the pain.

"Hands up! Freeze!" A group of guards formed to the front.

Con sent two blasts in their direction and soldiered on. His arms began to tremble. He slowly set Krystal on the ground. "I'm not sure how much longer I can keep going..." He said weakly.

"I can sort of move my head now." Krystal said, rolling her head to the side. "If you need to rest, you can. In fact, the longer you rest, the more likely I'll be able to carry myself."

"That's a nice sentiment... but if I don't get out soon, I'm going to die." He coughed more blood onto the floor. "I've lost...way too much blood..." He coughed violently and spit up more. "I need to...get out..." He pushed himself to his feet. "Come on, princess." He lifted her over his shoulder this time. "Watch my back."

"As if I've got a choice with the way you're holding me."

"Yeah, that was the joke." He coughed a little more blood and spit on the floor. "But this way, I don't have to set you down to spit." He shuddered slightly in pain, but kept walking.

"I think we're almost there..." Krystal closed her eyes, using her telepathy to steal images from the minds of the guards and workers. "Make a left, and then at the top of the stairs there's a door. But I can't see what's on the other side."

"Anything is better than this..." He coughed more blood and followed her directions. "Can you feel anything yet?"

"I can sort of feel my back. I'm starting to regain feeling in my arms, too."

"Good. You should be able to use your power." Con stood at the bottom of the staircase, staring up at the large black door. "Let's go." He started up the stairs. The sound of guards running came from behind them. "Can you cover me?"

"I'll do my best. I wish I could control it like you do."

"Ah... just takes some practice." He took another step, holding Krystal's body steady with one arm and giving himself balance on the wall with the other.

Krystal blasted a blue wave at one of the guards. "It's really not the same without the stone."

"Here." He switched the stone from his right hand to his left, pressing it against her back. "Better?"

The white energy flowed through her, and she took out part of a wall down the hall. "Oh, definitely better."

"Good... almost there..." Con reached the door at long last and tried the knob, but it was locked. He gave a long sigh. "I have to back up, or I might hurt you." He slowly climbed back down four stairs, and then turned around, clutching the stone.

"More guards are coming."

"We're almost there..." The weak vulpine sent a powerful blast of energy into the metal door, knocking it straight off its hinges. "God, I love this stone." He limped up towards the room.

"Behind you!" Krystal threw a blast, but not quick enough. A bullet grazed her ear and struck Con in the arm. He stumbled forward, unceremoniously setting Krystal down on the stairs as he fell. "No!"

He crawled into the dark room, and disappeared.

"Con!" Krystal screamed. "You can't leave me!" Still unable to move her legs, the vixen dragged herself through the door. What she saw made her jaw drop.

The entire room was lined with cages, and in each cage was a set of sharp teeth and a pair of glowing yellow eyes.

Behind her, the guards marched up the stairs. "Careful not to shoot the bio-weapons!"

Krystal furiously pulled herself away from the door and towards the center of the room. Several guards burst through the door.

"Surrender now or-" the guard stopped mid sentence and collapsed to the ground.

"What the?" The guard beside him turned to check on his partner, but then promptly joined him on the floor.

The vixen's eyes were wide. As more guards poured through the door, more fell. She tilted her head in curiosity, narrowing her eyes slightly in concentration. A grin spread on her face as she caught sight of the barely visible flash of movement around the guards.

It was Con.

In a matter of seconds, all of twenty guards had collapsed. The vulpine appeared in front of Krystal and offered her his hand. "Come on. You should be able to stand now."

"That was incredible!" She took his hand and attempted to pull herself up. Her legs gave out, and she fell flat back on her rear.

"Well, I  _can_  stop time, you know." He coughed. "You need to get out of here. I can't teleport you, unfortunately... I'm no longer at immediate risk of dying, but I'm very weak."

"I should be able to walk in a few minutes. In the meantime, why don't you explain to me more about this power?"

Con looked around at the frozen bio-weapons. "This isn't really the best place."

"Well, tough."

He sighed, taking a seat on the floor next to her and clutching the stone for life support. "Alright. Well, a trick you should probably learn for going up against my brother is absorption. When energy gained from the stone is thrown at you, you can absorb it and temporarily use it as strength. You can also reflect it back at your assailant. If you absorb it and immediately attack, whatever force was thrown at you will combine with your own strength in a sort of ultimate attack."

"That's useful. What about the color? I've noticed that your energy is a dark blue, while mine is light blue, but with the stone it's almost white."

"The more powerful you are, the lighter the color gets. With the stone, the power is unlimited. That's why it's nearly white. I'm not very powerful. I've only received power from the stone twice in small doses. You had a much more direct dose."

"How does it work? How can I make myself more powerful?"

"I'm not sure, yet. I'll have to do more tests. Can you stand yet?" Con asked.

Krystal looked down and wiggled her feet. "I think so."

The masked vulpine helped her up. "I need to go before I run out of time. I won't be able to heal a second time. I'll follow you though, and if you need any help, I'll be there." With that, he vanished.

"Alright... let's work on getting out of here."

On the side of the chamber opposite the door she had entered, Krystal spotted another door. She charged a light blue energy blast and knocked it off its hinges. "Remind me to get more of that stone's power when this is over." She said, hoping Con was listening.

In the next area, she found mostly scientists and hardly any guards. The ones she saw seemed preoccupied with their work, hurrying up and down the halls without a glance up or to the side. Finding where the exit was wasn't difficult. She headed down the next hallway, but stopped. There was a presence nearby, one that chilled her to the bone.

It was a woman. The thought patterns coming from her were terrible. Krystal placed her hand on her chest, sensing just a fraction of the pain this woman had endured in her life. Her thought patterns were dark and twisted, filled with anger and hatred and above all, pain. The vixen had to pause just to take in the fact that someone like this could even exist.

"What is it?" Con asked, appearing just long enough to ask.

"There's someone here... her thought patterns, they're so..."

"That's Vivian. My brother's girl. She's a very... troubled person."

"So much pain..."

"She'll kill you if she finds you. You need to hurry."

Krystal nodded and continued down the hall. The next door was unlocked, and she found herself inside the Titanian desert research facility. The scientists here had badges signifying they worked with Corneria. She turned around, wondering how something so sinister could be going on just through that one door.

The door had vanished, and instead there appeared to be an ordinary wall.

( **Meanwhile… deep in the secret base** )

" _WHAT_!?" The white cat screamed in furious disbelief at her employee.

"An arwing has just landed outside in the desert, ma'am."

"I want it destroyed."

"But, it's Star Fox, ma'am."

"I don't give a damn if it's James McCloud himself back from the dead. I want him re-dead." She scowled as the nervous worker left the room. Her arms crossed. Once, she had been friends with the famed mercenary. After tragedy struck her planet, she still held hope that James would come to her rescue. After finding her way to Corneria, she finally realized why. He had passed away ten years before.

Now, his son led the team. At first, she had admired him. She managed to get a job at the Cornerian Space Travel Regulations office, and it had made her day every time Star Fox requested hyperspace clearance.

Until the day she saw the face of the woman who had destroyed her childhood, standing in the background of a transmission to them. That was the day she made up her mind that Fox McCloud, son of James or not, would have to die alongside the blue skinned witch.

"Ma'am, I'm sorry to bother you again-"

"What is it this time?" She snapped.

"The prisoners have escaped."

The girl whipped around, glaring daggers at the informant. "Find them. Bruise them, shoot them, beat them to a bloody pulp but I want them here, and I want them alive!"


	29. Titania

Fox McCloud jumped out of his arwing and into the hot desert, armed with a blaster, some grenades, and Krystal's staff. He brought up her location on his wrist comm. It pointed him towards the base.

He set off in the hot sands towards the base, and towards shade. He had landed the arwing just out of sight of the base, in case the enemy was watching. He walked as swiftly as he could manage in the heat. According to his wrist comm, it was 107 degrees. The wind was as hot as the air and offered no relief. He wiped the sweat off his forehead and made it to the shade.

The door to the research facility had a security pad and a comm. He pressed the comm.

A woman answered. "Yes?"

"I am Fox McCloud, lead pilot of the Star Fox team. I have reason to believe that one of my team members has been kidnapped, and her signal is coming from inside the base."

"There's no kidnappers in here that we know of, sir, but we were told you were coming to investigate the disappearances of some of our scientists and employees. Maybe your teammate's disappearance is related."

The door clicked and slid open. Fox entered cautiously, his right hand hovering over his blaster's holster.

A young brunette mouse with her hair tied back in a loose ponytail came down the hall to greet him. "Thank you for coming so quickly, Mr. McCloud."

"Call me Fox. Mr. McCloud was my father." He offered her his hand. "And you are?"

"Mary." The mouse shook his hand with a strained smile.

"Nice to meet you." He glanced down the hall suspiciously. "My team is holding back on the investigation until I find out what happened to our missing operative."

"Understood, Mr. Fox," Mary said.

"Just Fox."

"...Fox. We understand your worry about your missing teammate, but people here have been disappearing left and right. It's likely that she's one of them."

"I'd agree with you, except her signal is coming from here in the base. As soon as I find her, we'll investigate the other disappearances. But you have to understand that I put my team before anything else."

"As do we. But as it's in our interested to help you, I can try to help you find her. What does she look like? Perhaps security footage has something."

"Her name is Krystal. She's a blue fox. Hard to miss."

"I'll check with security immediately. Here, take this. You can contact me from anywhere in the base. Feel free to look around, so long as you don't disturb the research. I'll let you know if we find anything." The mouse walked away.

Fox checked his com again and continued towards the signal. It led him down several hallways, turning left and right several times.  _Is she moving?_  The signal grew closer, but it seemed to be coming from the other side of the wall. "Krystal!" He called, hoping.

"Fox?" The voice sounded far away.

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Where are you?"

A fox appeared in front of the mercenary, covered in blood. A shirt was tied around his face, acting like a mask. But Fox couldn't mistake the blue eyes. "She's this way." He said, beckoning. Then he vanished. It took him a moment to recover from the shocking sight.

He had no choice but to trust the blue-eyed vulpine. He walked cautiously down the hallway. When he got to a crossroad, the bloodied ally appeared down the hall to his left. Fox jogged down the hallway, eager to find his teammate again.

He slowed as he came to another split, but the blue vixen running perpendicular to his path did not. She plowed into him, knocking the surprised leader to the floor.

"Fox!"

His arms wrapped around her and he held her close. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"What are you doing here?" She asked.

"Well, I was coming to rescue you." He admitted with a half grin.

"I'm afraid you're a little late." Krystal giggled, getting to her feet.

It was then Fox noticed that she had smears of blood on her. "What happened?! Are you okay?"

She followed his gaze to her battered appearance. "It's... not my blood." Her expression turned serious. "I was kidnapped by Con's brother, the one with the red eyes."

"Cloaky again, huh?" Fox frowned.

"He shot me with a dart to put me to sleep. When I woke up, I was in a dungeon. Con was there as well."

He tilted his head in a questioning manner. "...Con?"

"The one with blue eyes."

"Oh, so he has a name now, does he?"

"It's more of a nickname. I don't know that we can assume that it's not his real name, but at least it's something to call him. When I woke up, I was chained up in a room. He was there, too, taken prisoner. Apparently, Cloaky's developed some kind of technology that stops him from ghosting. He was in pretty bad shape. It looked like they even made a bad attempt at sewing his wound shut to keep him alive. He did say once that if Cloaky dies, he will too. I guess it goes both ways. We managed to escape using my powers and I ended up coming up through a strange area that's right below us. I came through a door that disappeared into the wall. Fox, they've got horrible creatures down there, locked up in a large dark room."

"It must be some sort of secret lair. If the door you came through was hidden in the wall, I'm willing to bet that no one up here even knows it exists. That might be part of how people around here have been disappearing. Now that you're here, we can investigate  _why_  they've been disappearing." Fox said.

"Hang on." Krystal said, stopping him as he started to walk. "Something's bothering me. I still can't sense you."

The leader's eyebrows furrowed, and his eyes shifted down and to the side. "Maybe the underground is interfering."

"Telepathy doesn't work like that. It's not some kind of signal from out in space. It's within me. Wherever I am, it works. Unless someone's doing something to inhibit my abilities."

Fox shrugged. "I wouldn't know much about how telepathy works. Let's just get this mission over with, so we can get paid."

The cyan eyed fox watched her leader suspiciously as he walked down the hall.  _I wonder if he's got something to do with it. He's hiding something from me... I can tell._ She followed him down the hall.

Mary the mouse came around a corner. "Oh! I see you've found her." She said to Fox. "I was just coming to get you because we saw her on the security footage."

"Yeah, it's a long story. Now, tell me what's been going on."

They followed Mary down the hall as she explained the situation. "Several employees have gone missing in the last month. At first, we thought it was just some sort of strange coincidence. But in the last week, over a hundred employees have just vanished without a trace. One entire group sent to the desert for research disappeared right in front of the security cameras. I have the footage here." She led them into a small room filled with screens and computers. Two dogs in security uniforms sat in rotating chairs.

On one screen, a fuzzy image of five people in lab coats appeared above the device. They were walking through the sand, standing close together. There was a slight blip in the film, and then they were gone.

"Hang on. What was that blip?" Fox asked.

"Oh, the camera does that all the time. We can't figure out what's wrong with it."

"Play it again."

The mouse obeyed.

"Pause." Fox said. The clip paused itself right as the blip appeared. "Right there." He pointed to the film. Behind the interference, one of the researchers could be seen with their arms in the air, as if they were falling. "It looks like someone set a pit trap. They must have walked into it. Can you show me the place this was taken?"

"It was outside. A couple of our security guards went to check it out after it happened, but they couldn't find anything." Mary said.

"Show me."

Mary led the two foxes out of the base and into the hot desert air. Several yards away from the building, the cement ended and the scorching brown sand began. "It was somewhere in this area."

"Thank you. We'll take it from here." Fox pressed a button on his com to hail the Great Fox as Mary returned to the safety of shelter and air conditioning.

"Yo."

"Falco, it's me. Get down here. I've found Krystal, and we have a few leads on the disappearances."

"Perfect. See you soon."

Fox ended the transmission and turned to Krystal. "They're on the way. Let's check out the sand here. Be careful where you step."

"If there's a trap here, it must be buried. Fox, I can sense thought patterns from underground...  _way_  underground." She said.  _But I still can't sense yours..._

"Oh, and I brought you this." Fox pulled her staff out of his backpack.

"Thank you. It would have been helpful to have earlier." She shortened the staff and tucked it into her belt loop, and then knelt to the sand and began gently swiping it away, searching for anything that might be hidden beneath the first few layers.

"Good idea." Fox followed suit, crawling along the ground and sweeping aside the sand with his forearms.

"Do you guys need help?" A familiar voice asked.

"What are you doing here?" Krystal demanded, sitting back on her heels.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Tony replied. "I followed you... You said you were going to Titania, and I had a bad feeling in my gut. I was afraid something had happened to you, so I used my ship to track your signal."

Fox stared at the vulpine, unconvinced. He didn't dare say the words out loud, but he suddenly had the thought that Tony wasn't there to help them.  _He doesn't seem surprised that she's pretty much covered in blood..._

"Well, as long as you're here, you can help us dig." The vixen said. "Be careful where you step. People have disappeared, and we have reason to believe they've fallen into a trap below ground."

Tony knelt beside Krystal and began sweeping aside sand. "Booby traps, eh? Sounds exciting."

( **Meanwhile...** )

The white cat stormed down the halls, followed by her desperate assistant.

"B-but miss-"

"You're all completely incompetent! You let them get away! I'll get her myself. Clearly I can't trust a single one of you!" She snapped at one of her guards as she walked by.

"Miss, she's dangerous! The power she has is unfathomable! She was single-handedly able to destroy the cell and the door to the bio-weapons!"

The cat stopped. "She opened the bio-weapons chamber?"

"Yes, miss..."

"Set the self destruct timer for ten hours. When it goes off, set them lose. In the meantime, get everyone out of here. Pack up the research. This project is over. I'm going above ground to take care of her myself."

"Yes, miss."

"If anyone in the base above stops you, kill them."

( **In the Titania Desert...** )

"Fox! I think I've found something." Krystal brushed some sand away from a large, flat area. "Help me clear it off!"

Fox and Tony ran to her side, brushing sand off of the platform.

"This might be the trap they fell into. Be careful." Fox warned. The trio brushed the sand off of the platform, keeping their knees on the solid ground they trusted.

"How does it open?" Krystal asked.

"There's got to be some sort of motion or weight sensor." Tony chimed in. "Any volunteers?"

"...Funny. I'll get one of the researchers to do a scan." Fox got up and headed back for the base.

Shade was beginning to cover the desert from the hills in the distance as the sun descended behind them.

"So, someone fell in this thing?" Tony asked.

"Yes. Some researchers from the facility here were walking through this area, and they disappeared on camera. There was a slight glitch, but when we paused it, we could see one of them. He looked like he was falling into something."

"And you think it's this?"

"What else could it be? People don't just fall through solid ground. This has to be some kind of trap door. I'm afraid of what will happen if we open it, though."

"Well, why don't you find out?" A girl's voice asked.

Krystal whipped around, drawing her staff, but the white cat was faster. A foot slammed into her gut, throwing her backwards. She landed right across the trap door.

"Hey!" Tony shouted. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"You shut your goddamn mouth or so help me I will end you, too!" The cat snarled. She stomped on the edge of the trap door, and it clunked. The door split into thirds and dropped downwards, dumping the vixen's body towards the blackness.

Krystal twisted in mid-air, grasping the edge with one hand and holding her staff with the other.

Vivian drew a gun and aimed it at her.

"No!" Tony rushed between the cat and her target. "Stop it!"

"Get out of the way, Anton!"

"No! You can't do this."

"This isn't a game. I swear to all that is evil in this world I  _will_  shoot you." She threatened.

"You need to back off! Now!"

Krystal struggled to keep her hold on the corner of the door, while still holding her staff in her other hand. She felt for her belt loop while keeping her eyes on the ledge above her, and carefully slid the staff through it in order to free both her hands. Her fingers began to ache.  _Now I really wish I did pull-ups more often..._

"Let me do this!" The feline cried. "You don't know what it means to me!"

"I'm not letting you kill her! You're going to have to go through me first." Tony said angrily.

 _Oh for the love of God. She's only two feet from you, just grab her gun, you idiot! It's right in your face!_  Krystal thought angrily. Her fingers were beginning to cramp, forbidding her from pulling herself up.

"What the hell?!" Fox sprinted across the sand, horrified at the sight of what was transpiring in his absence. "Tony, get her gun!" He snapped, darting towards the trap.

The cat adjusted her aim and shot at the mercenary, hitting him in the right bicep. Fox cried out in pain and rolled forwards, holding his wound.

"Get out of my way, Anton!" The cat shouted.

Fox skidded up to the rim of the trap, throwing sand and rocks off the edge as he came to a stop. With his good arm, he grabbed Krystal's hand and leaned back, trying to pull her up. "Tony! Fight her! I need your help!" He cried.

"I'm not moving! You won't kill her!" Tony said to the cat.

"I swear, I'll kill you!"

"Tony!" Fox snapped angrily. "Get her gun!"

"You're not killing her today. Leave!"

The cat roared in anger. "She  _will_  die to me, Anton!"

"Tony! Help me!" Fox cried. His sweating hand was beginning to slip. He stared in horror at Krystal's eyes. She screamed in terror as her hand slipped out of his. "No!" He lunged forward. The vixen's other hand, still grasping the ledge, stopped her fall, but only for a second. That second was all Fox needed. He locked his grip on her forearm, wincing slightly. "Tony!" He screamed. From his position on his stomach, he was unable to do anything but hold her arm as it slowly slipped through his hand.

"Get out of here, Vivian! I'm protecting her!"

The white cat laughed, lowering her gun. "You're too late to save her, anyways. He can't hold her weight with just one arm. He's going to drop her right to her death." She pressed a button on her wrist device and vanished.

Tony scrambled around the side of the trap, reaching out for the hand of the blue vixen.

Krystal's hand slipped from Fox's. Her cyan eyes were wide with fear as she fell backwards into the dark hole.

"Krystal! No!" Fox shoved himself forward towards the hole.

"You moron!" Tony grabbed his vest and jerked him back onto the sand. "You don't know what's down there! You're wounded! You can't just jump into some black hole like that!" He maintained his grip on the merc's clothing, pulling him to his feet.

"Krystal's down there! Alone! Let go of me!"

"You won't last. You need a doctor!" Tony argued, still holding onto the mercenary.

"Let go!" Fox shoved away from his rival and stepped towards the hole.

Tony grabbed his vest again. "Just what do you think you're doing?!"

"I'm going after her, because I actually love her, you bastard!" Fox drew back his fist and plowed it with great force into Tony's jaw, knocking him flat on his back.

He turned immediately and lunged for the pit, leaping headlong into the darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -awaits cheers- Yeah, you all know you wanted to see that. Don't even lie. I've been waiting for it, too.


	30. Into Darkness

"What do you  _mean_  the whole team is here?" Vivian cried.

"They broke the atmosphere about a minute ago. Fox has a homing beacon on him, and they're going to be searching for him."

"Move up the self-destruct. We're leaving now. Anyone not out of here in thirty minutes goes down with it."

( **Meanwhile...** )

Krystal reached to her waist and twisted in mid-air as she fell, ripping her belt loop off her jean shorts as she drew her staff. She extended it, gripping it tightly with both hands and holding it in a horizontal position. She fell for several seconds before it finally struck something on one side. As the hole narrowed, the ends of the staff dug into the ground and pulled the vixen's fall to a halt.

Her body shook from the intense fear running through her veins. She stared up at the staff, holding onto it for dear life. Below her, the hole grew large. Everything beyond her feet was pitch black.  _Please don't fall... please don't fall..._ Her breathing quickened and she whimpered as she realized that there was no way for her to pull herself back up.  _Con, if you're there... please help..._

Maybe it was the time she spent helplessly locked in a glass prism above a hundred foot drop, having terrible nightmares about falling to hear death, or maybe she was always afraid of heights, but she could suddenly not control her fear of falling into the dark below her.

Some sand fell from above her and she turned her head down to avoid getting it into her eyes.

"Oof!"

The dead weight of a falling body caught the staff, and it jolted violently several inches downward.

She screamed, nearly slipping. A hand grabbed her waist, holding her steady. She gasped and opened her eyes. "Fox, what are you doing?!"

"Oh, you know... just hangin'..." He grinned childishly. The adrenaline high from knocking Tony flat on his ass was numbing his sense of fear.

"This isn't the time to be making jokes!" She said angrily.

"Nice to see you, too."

"I thought you were safe. I thought you'd be getting help to pull me out!"

"I left that to Tony, since he doesn't seem capable enough to pull a goddamn gun out of a little girl's hands and stop her from shooting us. I thought maybe he'd at least be useful enough to go call for help."

Furious that Fox had risked his life so carelessly for her, and angered further by his attitude about the situation, Krystal kicked him softly in the shin.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"You just jumped in here after me without even seeing what's down here! You could have died!"

"Well, yeah. But I didn't."

"And you're wounded! And you're making jokes and taking cheap shots at my ex-fiance!"

The staff slipped slightly, and they both gasped.

"Is now really the time to be getting angry with me?" Fox asked.

"Now may be the  _only_  time!" Krystal's lip quivered. "We're going to fall in a minute, and we've no idea what's even down there."

"Could be dangerous." Fox said with a glint in his eye. "There might be bad guys."

The vixen's knuckles were white from holding her staff. "We're going to die... there's no telling what's down there. We don't even know how far down this goes... if we even survive the fall, there could be anything! Monsters, soldiers, traps..."

The staff slipped another inch.

With the arm that he had around her waist, Fox could feel her trembling. He held her tighter. "It's going to be alright."

"You don't know that!" She cried. Her cyan eyes were filled with tears, and her trembling body began to hyperventilate. "We're...we're gonna fall..." She managed between breaths.

There was a distant grinding sound, and the tunnel began to darken. The trap was resetting itself. Her teary eyes stared at him. The fear in them was something he had never seen before. As the darkness blinded them, Krystal screamed.

Fox tightened his grip on her waist. "Whatever happens, hold onto me."

The staff slipped another few inches, and all at once, it broke free of the earth.

Krystal's arms flew around the vulpine's neck and she held onto him for dear life. She buried her nose in his chest and screamed.

Fox held her as tight as he could with his wounded arm, stretching his good arm around to ensure that if they hit the ground, his body would cushion her fall. He held onto the staff and the blind hope that it would save them a second time.

His foot was the first thing to connect with the slope. "Ground!" He shouted in warning. He lurched forward and braced for impact; the ground knocked the wind out of his lungs, but it was just soft enough to not kill or mortally wound them. He tumbled sideways, still holding the vixen in his injured arm. They rolled over and over each other, down the sandy slope, until finally landing on the flat ground.

Fox groaned in pain. Krystal lay on top of him, still shaking.

"Are you okay?" He asked weakly.

"Thank you... thank you." She whispered in a trembling voice.

Even with good night vision, it was pitch black. Not only was it dark, but also dead silent. The only sound was their own heavy breathing. The two foxes lay still for several moments. The adrenaline was wearing off, and the pain in Fox's arm was suddenly prevalent.

Krystal suddenly sat up with a gasp. "Fox, you were shot!"

"Yeah..." The sound of cloth ripping reached his ears. Soft fingers touched his arm, and they tied a piece of cloth tightly over the wound. "What's that?"

"Part of my shirt. It doesn't matter." Krystal stood up and held out her hand, creating a soft blue glow. The room was dark enough that the light from her hand illuminated quite a bit of it. "It's... massive. Some kind of cave."

Fox sat up and looked around. They were in a giant chasm. "So, this is their trap..." He walked over to some shadows on the ground, frowning. "These are skeletons..." The bones were still clad in the lab coats, covered in blood. "But the bodies only disappeared a few days ago. They couldn't have decayed this fast..." He trailed off, eyes wide in realization. He ran to his partner and threw her arm down. "Turn it off!" He whispered in a panic.

"What?"

"Now!"

She obeyed, letting the room fall back into darkness. "Why are-"

"Shh!" He took her hand, quickly and quietly running away from where they were last standing.

Krystal's heart raced. Unable to sense his thought patterns, she had no idea why he had suddenly flipped out. He led her up part of the sandy slope they had tumbled down, with great difficulty as all of the sand was loose and dry.

The sound of large footsteps met her ears, and they petrified her.

"Don't move." Fox spoke directly into her ear, holding her close to his body.

Nostrils from where they had previously been standing exhaled loudly.

Fox readied his blaster and moved Krystal behind him.

The sniffing sounds grew steadily closer. Neither of the foxes dared to breathe.

Whatever the owner of the sniffs was seemed to leave back the way it had come.

Fox sighed quietly in relief and turned to Krystal, accidentally bumping his nose into hers. He blushed in the dark, slightly worried that the glow of his face would begin producing its own light. He swallowed the butterflies in his gut and pulled her face up next to his to whisper in her ear. "The bodies didn't decay...they were picked clean." He spoke as quietly as he could, but it wasn't quiet enough.

A snake-like arm wrapped around his waist and jerked him from his feet. He yelled out in panic as his blaster clattered uselessly to the ground.

"Fox!"

Krystal lit the room with a shield, and what she saw made her gasp. A large mutant creature had taken hold of Fox. It stood at least ten foot tall, with two large clawed feet and a thick, spiked tail. Its left arm was a long tentacle, and its right arm resembled that of a velociraptor. Its body was covered with green scales, with the exception of the purple tentacle. Its mouth had a set of long, sharp teeth, and its tongue had a split, like a snake. Its hideous appearance was set perfectly with a pair of yellow eyes.

Krystal scrambled down the slope towards her staff, which had fallen to the floor where the two foxes landed.

"Blaster! My blaster!" Fox cried. He was holding off the teeth with his good arm and his leg.

The blue vixen snatched up the blaster off the floor and fired at the creature's body. "Hey! Over here, ugly!" She shouted. The monster dropped Fox to the ground and advanced on her instead. She tossed Fox the blaster and raised a blue shield to protect herself.

Fox fired a flare into the air for better vision and then charged a shot as the monster pounded away at his teammate's shield.

"Hurry, I can't hold it!" Krystal called.

The leader fired his gun at the creature's back, drawing its attention again as Krystal ran for her staff. She shot two fire blasts that curved towards its chest, and then ran forward with the freeze blast ready. With the creature's attention still on Fox, the vixen used her staff to freeze the lower half of its body to the floor.

It turned and roared at her, grabbing onto her staff with its tentacle arm.

"Let go!" She screamed, holding tight to her weapon in a tug-of-war of sorts. The creature picked up the staff, dangling a struggling Krystal off the ground.

Fox fired off a charged blaster shot into the creature's chest, and it responded by flinging Krystal right at him. They crashed to the ground together, and the monster advanced with teeth bared. Krystal raised her staff above them and activated the shield just in time to block the tentacle. Fox crawled out from under her and ran out of the shield with his blaster raised.

With its attention on Fox again, Krystal ran forward and slashed the side of the creature. It turned faster than she had anticipated, lunging at her with its mouth open wide. She leaped backwards, losing her balance with the suddenness of the attack. Its clawed arm swiped out, slicing through the flesh on her waist. She fell unceremoniously to the ground. The teeth snapped for her leg, which she jerked away with less than an inch to spare. The teeth lodged instead in the vixen's shorts and began to drag her along. She struck the face with her staff.

"Krystal!" Fox ran towards her and grabbed her hand. He pulled her away from the creature, resulting in tearing off a large chunk of her shorts. They stumbled backwards and regained their footing. The creature swung its spiked tail around, aiming directly towards them. Fox shoved Krystal behind him and took the blow directly to his chest. The force threw him several feet, and the spikes shredded the front of his vest, shirt, and part of his skin. He landed on his back with a groan.

The pain he was in hit Krystal's mind and she gasped. She shouted at the monster as it went to finish him off. It ignored her. She broke into a run and planted herself between Fox and the monster, staff drawn and readied.

The monster roared, a deafening roar that echoed around the place. The flare went out, leaving them in darkness just as the creature charged forward.

"Krystal!" Fox cried.

The sound of heavy footsteps and flesh being impaled reached his ear. Krystal screamed, and the monster roared.

Fox scrambled for his blaster. He had dropped it in his fall, and it had landed several feet away. It took him a few seconds in the dark, but he found it and shot off another flare.

The monster lay motionless on the ground, but he couldn't see Krystal.

Suddenly the creature moved, rising slowly. Fox charged a shot and aimed.

A disgruntled blue vixen shoved the creature to the side and stood up, covered in blood. She pulled her staff from its chest and turned to Fox, who had lowered his blaster and was running towards her. He wrapped her in his arms and held her.

"I'm sorry..." He released her as pain shot through his chest. "For a second there, I thought-..." He trailed off.

She smiled. "For a second there, I did too." Her smiled faded, and she gestured up at the flare. "While that's lit, we should make sure there's no one else down here, and check for a way out."

"Good plan."

They walked together around the perimeter of the room. It was large and a sort of sloppy round shape. Three of the walls had been dug out of the dirt. The fourth wall was made of cement. It was across from the side where they had fallen in, which was covered with a slope of sand that poured from the trap hole. There were several trap holes along the same wall.

And along the floor, there were at least twenty skeletons.

"Why would someone set this up?" Krystal asked. "These researchers were only doing their jobs."

"Maybe they were researching something that someone doesn't want to be researched."

The flare flickered.

"How are we going to get out of here?"

"My com doesn't work under ground, but the location signal does. I sent for the rest of the team a while ago. Even if Tony doesn't get help, they will." He looked at her. Her hair was tangled, her face was dirty, and her clothes were filthy and torn; yet to him, she was more beautiful than ever. He gazed at her, wanting nothing more than to hold her in his arms.

The flare died out, leaving them in darkness.

Fox sighed and sat down on the cold ground. As the adrenaline wore off, his wounds began to ache. He leaned into the sand slope and closed his eyes. Even breathing was becoming painful. Sensing his pain, Krystal came up next to him and placed her hand on Fox's chest.

He winced. "I think I've got a broken rib."

"You're bleeding..."

"Damn thing got me with its tail."

"I saw. You know I can create force fields with my mind? You didn't have to push me out of the way..."

"Yeah, I... it was just instinct, I guess."

"Sit up." Krystal sat on Fox's lap and gently removed his torn up vest and shirt, and ripped the bottom part of the shirt off. She tore it at one seam and then used it as a makeshift bandage, looping it around his waist and tying it snugly.

"Heh, trying to get me out of my clothes, eh?" He joked.

"You caught me. This entire thing was just a ploy to make you take off your shirt."

"I knew it!"

The vixen laughed.

Fox grinned.  _I love the sound of her laugh..._ "Well, not that you can see anything anyways. Your evil plot has failed! It's so dark in here, I can't tell if my eyes are open or closed. I can't even see my eyelids."

Her laughter filled the room, bringing a smile to the vulpine's face. He moved forward slightly to get more comfortable, fortuitously bumping his nose into hers. His lips brushed against hers for a brief second, and chills ran down his spine. "S-sorry," he said, but he didn't move.

"It's okay..." She didn't move for a moment, wondering if it would be appropriate to kiss him. Sensing his thought patterns, the desire overwhelmed her and she kissed him hard. Her tongue moved gracefully in his mouth, desperate for the taste. He moaned softly and grabbed her hips as she rolled her body against his, grinding on his lap. She gently bit his lower lip and then leaned in to kiss his neck. He panted lightly. Her hands traveled down his chest and waist, stopping at the rim of his pants.

His heart pounded against his ribs as if it wanted to break free.  _Is she...choosing me?_

She kissed him again, fumbling with the button.

Against his first impulse, he leaned back and placed his hand over hers. "Are you sure?"

She paused.

"I-it's not that I don't  _want-_ "

"Shh!" She snapped. "Did you hear that?"

Her staff was giving off a slight glow from the gems, but besides that, there was no light.

"Hear what?"

There was a faint gurgle from across the room. Fox picked up his blaster and fired his last flare into the air. The room lit up, and the gurgling noise was heard again.

"I think it's coming from that wall." Krystal stood up and walked towards the cement wall, and Fox slowly got to his feet.

"There must be something behind it."

"I... I think I could knock it down, if I try."

"I don't think that's a good idea. We're not in the best shape to be taking on whatever could be there."

"I don't sense anything on the other side."

"No offense, but you also didn't sense the monster that was in here."

"Well, I wasn't trying to. And don't you dare bring up that I couldn't sense you before, I can now. There's nothing alive behind that wall."

Fox glanced across the ground at his vest, remembering that he'd stuck the inhibitor clip on the inside of it. The vest was torn up, and the clip had been smashed in the process. "I believe you, but if something goes wrong, I'm in no condition to protect you."

She sighed, standing halfway between him and the wall. "What if it's a way out?"

"Do you really want to take that chance?"

She hesitated, and then shot an energy blast at the wall. Cracks split up the side from the point of impact, and it gurgled loudly. "Fox, I... I think you were right."

"Run!" Fox called. He scrambled up the side of the sandy slope with Krystal in pursuit as the massive wall crumbled into large chunks that smashed into the ground and rolled. A giant wave of water fell from behind it, thundering towards them. Fox grunted in pain as he climbed. The sand slipped downwards with every step, making progress difficult. The water crashed into the sand, splashing upwards.

The brunt of the waves hit just below Krystal, dragging away the sand from beneath her feet. She gasped as she fell backwards into the water.

Fox turned around, his fine-tuned ears picking up her gasp above the water's noise. "Krystal!" Without hesitating, he jumped from his safe point in the sand and dove into the water. His chest burned with pain as he struggled to swim down. With his last flare's waning light, he saw her struggling to reach the surface and kicked forward. The more he used his arms, the more his body regretted the decision to jump in.

He swam below her, grabbing her leg with his good arm and resting her thigh on his shoulder. She struggled for a couple of seconds, and he pushed upwards. Once her face broke the surface, he let go and swam up.

"Ugh, the water's salty!" Fox coughed out a bit of water that had gotten in his mouth, immediately regretting the decision. He yelled in pain, clutching his sides. He slipped below the water for a few seconds, and with a bit of a struggle, he resurfaced.

"Fox, be careful! I can't really swim."

"Keep your head above the water until it settles. If you get pulled under, it's really hard to get back up." The pain in his chest was close to unbearable. Between keeping his lungs full of air to help himself float and treading water with his arms, he wasn't sure how long he could hold on.

The water began to calm, rising slowly as the waves dissipated. Fox struggled towards the sandy shore. The flare had gone out, but a faint bit of light came from behind the broken wall. It was enough for him to see the slope.

Krystal gasped, pushing forward with new energy. "Something's coming. Get out of the water. We have to get out!"

Fox took a deep, painful breath, and kicked hard for the edge. He scrambled up onto the sand and turned around to help Krystal. "Come on!" He stepped back towards the water.

"No! Don't touch it!" She shouted. Her foot struck the sand and she struggled to get out of the water. Suddenly she screamed.

"Krystal!" Fox reached for her hand but then froze. Bright electric currents ran along the water's surface. He knew if he touched her, he would be electrocuted too. He sank to his knees, watching helplessly as she convulsed in front of him. Her open eyes glowed white.

The currents stopped, leaving them in darkness again. Her body collapsed with a soft  _thud_  into the sand.

Fox crept forward cautiously. "Krystal?"

She didn't respond. He dragged her out of the water and checked her pulse; her heartbeat was strong. He held her hand in both of his, silently praying that she was okay. There was no light for which to check if she had been burned or otherwise injured.

From below the water, a soft glow caught his eye. It was her staff, resting several feet down in the sand. He tested the water with one finger, and then dove in. He reached the staff without using his arms to swim, and then pushed off the ground with his legs. His chest ached horribly when he broke the surface, and it took every ounce of his self control not to cough. He kicked towards the sand and crawled out, using the staff as a light.

His lungs forced up a cough, and he rolled to his back in defeat of the pain. "Please, please hurry, Falco."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am teh masteh of evilness… -laughs evilly-
> 
> Vivian: You? I killed my own mother… you can't get much more evil than that.
> 
> Me: Yes, but I invented you. Without me, you don't exist, and it was my idea that you killed your mother.
> 
> Vivian: I still say I am the Queen of Evilness.
> 
> Me: Um… no one called the position of 'Queen of Evilness'… have at it.
> 
> Vivian: Yeah, but you're-…
> 
> Me: I am Master of Evilness. I'm not queen or king, so those two positions are open.
> 
> Vivian: Oh-kay… whatever… Someone's in a bad mood…
> 
> Me: -pushes her out of the room- OKAY! Anyway… Uh. This one's been edited. Yay.


	31. Bio Weapon

Con rushed through the halls of the base, frantically shoving through the water. The self-destruct mechanism would fill every hall with the ocean of Zoness until it was entirely submerged. Red emergency lights flashed on and off, and an alarm blared. He kicked through a wall and grabbed a fistful of wires, ripping them apart. The alarm stopped, to his relief.

He clutched the blue stone in his hands and made it into Vivian's office. True to his hunch, the room held three cloaks on hangers. He grabbed one and then turned around, heading for the exit. His wound had already re-opened, and he was having a hell of a time getting through the resistant water. It was up to his thighs, now. He groaned in effort, pushing towards the exit as his blood created a red trail in the water. The stone slowed the progress, but it wasn't stopping it this time. On the one hand, he was furious with Krystal for having left it sitting on the floor in a room full of mutated creatures. On the other, it was keeping him alive now and he couldn't complain.

"Almost...there..." He coughed up blood and stumbled into the wall. He glanced up, and his eyes widened in horror. The water was lapping at the exposed wires that he had ripped apart earlier. Sparks flew from them, dying in the water below. He spit out a mouthful of blood and lunged forward towards the exit.

He wasn't fast enough. His nerves lit up like a circuit board, and he cried out. The water itself was channeling the electricity. The stone in his hands began to glow, lighting up the darkened hallway with blinding white light. His body convulsed and he threw back his head. White light shone from his mouth and his eyes as he screamed. A wave of white energy rippled away from his body, striking the walls around him. At long last, the power generator shorted out, and he collapsed backwards into the water.

"Quickly! Check for survivors!" The voice echoed from down the halls.

Con's eyes slowly began to close. The effort to keep them open was just too great.  _I'm not going to survive..._ He could feel his face slipping below the surface.

"Look! Over there!" The last thing he heard was the sloshing of people wading through the water towards him.

( **Meanwhile, Above Ground** )

Falco stared at the vastly multiplying green blips on the radar screen. "Where the hell are they coming from?"

Katt pointed to the center. "Here. There must be a gate or something." She turned over her shoulder, "Slippy! Have you found Fox?"

"I've isolated his location. He appears to be underground in some sort of chamber. It almost looks like a trap of some sort."

"I'll get him." Falco offered.

"Falco, we need you up here to keep an eye on those things." Peppy cut in. "You're our best pilot. From the arwing, it shouldn't be difficult for you to keep their numbers down." He turned to Katt. "Gather some of those researchers to help you get Fox out. If Krystal's not with him, find her too. Slippy and I will provide ground cover in the Landmasters until you're all safe again."

The lights flickered, and then the halls became black.

Slippy took a small capsule from his backpack and threw it at the ceiling. It stuck, giving off a bright enough glow to light half of the hallway. "We've got to get everyone out of here!"

Falco ran up to the girl who had greeted them. "Mary! Sound the evacuation alarm. This base is about to be overrun. We'll hold them off as long as we can, but there's only so much we can do against hundreds of them."

"Of what?"

"We don't know yet, but our equipment has marked them as hostile, and they're multiplying as we speak."

The mouse's eyes were wide. "I-I'll evacuate the facility." She scurried off, and a few seconds later, emergency lights came on and an alarm blared.

Peppy turned to his teammates. "All right team, you know your mission. Let's go!"

( **Meanwhile...** )

Fox lay on the sand, eyes closed, taking shallow, pained breaths. He glanced over at the unconscious vixen to his left. He took her hand to check her pulse again.

Still strong.

"I know you're... unconscious... and you probably can't hear me..." he spoke softly between breaths, "I just want to say that... you're amazing... and I know I haven't known you... for a long time... but I can tell... you're a good person... you're very kind, and your heart is... just as beautiful as your face... and your laugh... I could listen to it for hours... and never grow tired of it... and your eyes... they're like another world... I could get lost in them... just as easily as I could... by flying away into the stars... without radar or a map... and your voice... it's the sweetest voice I've ever heard... your hands are so soft... I could hold them forever... and you're just... I mean, you're fucking gorgeous. Your smile is adorable... you have that perfect hip to waist ratio... your legs are just perfect...  _you_  are perfect. I just wish... I wish I could deserve you. But no matter what happens, I'll always love you."

Krystal opened her eyes, which had tears in them. She inhaled slowly with trembling lungs, and sighed out the breath.

Fox snapped his head to the side with wide eyes. "A-are you awake?"

"I think I am now. What happened?"

He gulped.  _Did she hear me talking?_  "Uh... something happened to the water... it electrocuted you. You passed out. Are you feeling okay?"

"I feel... I feel fine. I feel refreshed, and strong."

"That's good... Did you, uh... did you hear me talking a minute ago?"

"No, I'm sorry. What did you say?" She turned to him, and he blinked.

"Oh... nothing. Never mind." He stared at her for a moment. "Krystal, your eyes... they're... glowing."

"What?" She sat up and leaned over the water. Two white orbs stared back at her. "What-... what's going on? What's happening to me?!"

"Hey, hey! Whoa! Calm down." He sat up and touched her arm. "Just take a deep breath. If you panic, you don't know what will happen."

Her breathing quickened, and her body began to glow.

Fox cringed away from her. "Krystal, you need to stay calm. Whoa!" He jumped backwards, extending her staff in defense as a white wave shot out from her body.

"I can't control it!"

He blocked another blast. "You have to focus!"

"I can't!" Another wave shot out and she screamed.

"Focus on me!"

She stared at him with fear in her glowing white eyes, willing her mind to find calm.

"Deep breath."

She took in a shaky breath, and exhaled quickly.

"Slower."

She took another breath, staring into his green eyes. The glow faded, and with it, her consciousness. Fox caught her as she fell forwards, and he gently set her down.  _Come on, team. What's taking you guys so long?_

"Hey, McCloud! Did somebody call for a rescue?"

"About time!" He said weakly.

A flare shot across the room and spread light. "What the hell is this place?" Katt asked, hanging out of one of the trap holes from a rope and harness.

"It's a trap."

"You look like you've had one hell of a day." She lowered herself to the slope and unhitched her harness. "We've got a problem up top."

"I'm not really in the condition to be facing any more problems. Did Tony get you?"

"Tony's here?"

"Figures, I'll take that as a no."

"Is Krystal alright?"

"I wish I could tell you. We both need some serious medical attention."

"The entire research facility is shutting down and evacuating. The power went out, and there's an army of violent mutated creatures pouring out of a small warp hole."

"That sounds complicated."

"Backup is on the way, but we have to hold off the bogeys until they get here."

"I'm pretty sure I have at least one broken rib."

"Yikes. Well, on the bright side, half the Cornerian Army will most certainly have a medical ship. We'll just have to hold up until then. I'm gonna take up Krystal first. I'll come back in a minute for you. Are you...you're not able to carry her, are you?"

He stared at her for a moment. "I've got a broken rib, possibly  _ribs_. What do you think?"

"I'll take that as a no." Katt knelt down and lifted Krystal's upper body into her lap, locking her arms below the vixen's shoulders and around her chest, and then she dragged her across the sand to the harness. Once she had clipped both herself and her unconscious friend into place, she tugged twice on the rope. "See you in a jiffy."

The two girls disappeared up into the hole, leaving Fox alone with his thoughts.  _How are we supposed to deal with an army of mutants? Where the hell did they come from, anyways? Who made them?_ He rubbed his head. Something was nagging at his mind.  _Why didn't Tony help her? He's supposed to love her. Not just that, but his scar. It's the same as Con's wound. And he's got a brother, named... Connor... Con, Connor? What if they're the same person? That would mean that Tony is... no, okay. I know he's a pain in my ass and I hate him, but that's assuming too much._ He took a deep breath.  _But that cat girl, she called him Anton. If I had to guess, Tony is a nickname for Anton. How would she know his real name? If I'm right... how am I going to tell Krystal?_

A few moments later, Katt descended again. "All right, Foxie boy. You're up."

She helped him into the harness, as his injuries hindered his movements. Then she harnessed herself in behind him and tugged twice on the rope. The people up top began to pull them up.

Fox unclipped his harness up at the top and stepped over to Krystal's side.

"She'll be alright, Fox. We have to defend the base until the military gets here." Katt tossed him a fresh blaster. "If anything freaky comes at you, shoot it. I'm going towards the front lines with Peppy and Slippy. Falco's covering us from above. If Krystal wakes up and she's good to fight, send her up in an arwing for support." The pink feline ran through the sand to where Peppy, Slippy, and a few armed lab hires were blasting away at the ever-growing mob of creatures. "Any idea what they are yet?" She asked, firing a few shots into the fray.

"They appear to be chimeras." Slippy replied over the comm from his Landmaster. "They have the characteristics of several different creatures. That one there has the face of a wolf, and the body of some kind of dinosaur. They're genetic experiments. The farthest anyone has ever gone with a chimera is to combine two of the same species. This is a scientific breakthrough! Unfortunately, we have to kill them all in order to protect ourselves." The eager toad blasted the head off of one. "The part that makes me cringe, is I think they were made from people..."

"Oh my god. Who would do such a thing?" Katt stared in disgust at the mutant creatures. Their eyes bored into her soul as she drained the life out of them, one by one. "These poor creatures..."

Fox slowly limped up behind her. "So, these are the mutants?"

Katt shot Slippy a glare, stifling his sentence before it even began to form sound. "Yes, Fox. Mutants. Murderous bio weapons. Shoot to kill." She knew that if Fox found out the type of chimeras they were, he would most likely not shoot and try to save them.

Peppy gave her a knowing look. "Just try to get their numbers down a bit. And don't look them in the eye."

"Why not?"

"They'll take it as a challenge," Katt said, "and attack you."

"Fair enough." The vulpine took down several mutants, despite shooting only with his left arm.

The ground began to rumble, and the gate that was spewing creatures suddenly widened. A large, green snout emerged, filled with teeth the size of a fully grown person. Yellow eyes peeked out, and then an entire head. A torso followed the head with two clawed arms, and then came the feet. The creature somewhat resembled the King RedEye that Fox had defeated once on Sauria, only it was several times the size. Something was off about the scales on its body, but the sheer size of it drew attention away.

"Whoa!" Fox gaped. "Where the hell were they keeping  _that_?!"

"We're about to get crushed. Run!" Katt sprinted towards the base, following the research lab employees who had taken the liberty of fleeing at the first sight of the teeth.

Fox gasped in pain as he ran, trying not to breathe too heavily or move his arms and body too much. One researcher had stayed behind with Krystal, who was still unconscious. "Katt!" He yelled. "I need your help with Krystal!"

The feline stared helplessly at the approaching monstrosity. "I'm gonna die here, and she'd better fucking appreciate it in the afterlife!" She ran to her friend. "Now would be a  _really good time_ for you to wake up!" She yelled.

As if on cue, Krystal's eyes opened.

Katt gasped and took a step back. "What's wrong with her eyes?!"

"I don't know, but you're gonna wanna back up."

Krystal sat up and then got to her feet. Fox stood cautiously, unsure of whether to be more afraid of the impending doom of the giant mutant, or of the woman he loved.

She walked up to him and reached her hand out. He flinched, and she drew her staff from his backpack. "Run." Her voice was calm but stern. He obeyed immediately.

She strode towards the massive monster, staff drawn.

Katt gasped in horror. "It's scales are alive!"

Fox turned around and stared. Each of the green scales along the body had a face. It was as if a thousand bodies had been stuck together in its shape.

Krystal approached the monster, holding up her staff. White swirls of light circled the weapon. The creature roared; Krystal swung. White energy flew from the staff in a wave, crashing into the legs and bringing the creature to the ground. It roared in pain, a terrible cry that seemed to carry the torment of a thousand souls.

Fox covered his ears.

Krystal walked closer. From a distance, Fox and Katt watched as she drove the tip of her staff through its skull, straight between the eyes. Several white flashes surged through the mutant, stemming from the staff in its forehead.

The scales on the body began to separate, pulling themselves separate from the original body. Each scale had a face, but the bodies were twisted and mutated beyond repair. They screamed horribly as their bodies melted into the sand in puddles of green slime.

"Who would do such a thing?" Katt asked in quiet horror.

Krystal unleashed a powerful wave of energy, destroying the portal and taking nearly all of the mutants with it. She walked slowly back towards Fox.

"I've killed them..." She said in a sad voice. "We're safe, now." The glow from her eyes disappeared and she collapsed into his arms.

( **Meanwhile** )

The white cat stood atop the cliff, watching as her creation was destroyed by the blue furred vixen. She had taken over their research at the last minute, furious with her partner for going off on his own without consulting her more about his plans. Guns were a much better motivator than money, and the researchers she accosted were more than happy to help her in exchange for their lives. Most of the galaxy's bio-engineering research took place in the empty desert, where there were little-to-no risks for killing civilians.

When she heard they were experimenting with bio-weapons, it was too big of a temptation to resist. She organized the secret construction of several trap tunnels that sprung up overnight. Those who fell into the traps were either turned into weapons themselves, or used as bait to test the mutants and their strengths. The plan had been a short one, mostly last minute; but she hadn't expected her enemy to have so much success.

"She has grown powerful."

"Why are you here?" She turned to the peach colored fox with a cross expression.

"I heard you were trying to kill her." He raised a brow in a questioning manner.

"Are you here to help me, or stop me?"

"You know I'd never help you. Not after mom."

Her muscles tensed.

"I know we didn't have the best childhood... you especially. But she isn't the enemy."

"It's her fault I was banished!" The cat hissed.

"No, it isn't. That was the council's fault. She was an infant! You really think she had a choice in the matter?"

"If she hadn't been around, I wouldn't have ki..." she trailed off, lower lip trembling. "I wouldn't have killed her..."

"While that may be true, blaming her for her own existence isn't going to get you anywhere."

"I'll put a bullet in you faster than you can blink."

"Well, bullets do travel faster than knives."

"Shut up!" Her hands trembled lightly at the thought that he might try to kill her to stop her.

"You know, originally  _she_  was supposed to leave, she was going to be sent to the neighbors. I'll bet you didn't know that. I bet you also didn't know who-"

The feline drew her weapon and fired a shot into the fox's stomach. "Enough!" A slight twinge of regret grew inside of her as she watched him stumble to the floor.

"You... shot me." He grimaced. "I bet you didn't know... who told the council mom was pregnant..." Blood trickled from his lips and he began to give in to the fatal wound.

The name was whispered so softly that even the feline's well trained ears could hardly make it out; but she knew her partner's name all too well. Her eyes widened as the fox breathed his last.

"No..." Her throat tightened and tears spilled from her eyes. "No, what have I done?" She knelt by the body of her younger brother, filled with remorse. "Oh, no... I'm so sorry..." She dragged his face into her lap, gently stroking his soft cheeks. "Kevin, I'm sorry!"

But it was too late. He was dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boom, bombshell dropped. I'm making everyone slightly less stupid for this final edit, so Fox is starting to finally put two and two together. Krystal wants to continue ignoring the signs... but she'll have to face the truth eventually.


	32. Hospital

Con slowly opened his eyes, blinking slowly several times as they adjusted to the light. A soft rhythmic beeping sound came from beside him.  _Where am I?_ _  
_

He was lying in a small uncomfortable bed with metal rails on both sides. The beeping increased in speed. He looked around the room. The walls were a boring beige color, with a plain white paneled ceiling and a wide metal door. _A hospital?_  The beeping went faster. He glanced to his right. It was coming from a heart monitor. An IV stuck out of his hand. He wrinkled his nose in distaste.  _How the hell am I in a hospital?_

He rubbed his eyes and sat up, and the mattress made creaky plastic sounds in protest. The smell of chemicals was beginning to irritate his sensitive nose.  _I need to get the hell out of here._ Taking out the IV was painful, and the spot on his hand bled. The heart monitor rang out a solid tone as he yanked off the wires attached to his body. He went to the bathroom to wash his face and dab his hand with toilet paper, wincing at the pain in his stomach.

His clothes were gone, he assumed because of their blood content. Across his lower abdomen was a healing patch. He peeled back the corner just a bit, revealing a set of stitches.  _How is this happening? I should have ghosted as soon as I passed out..._

His clothes were gone, leaving him clad in a hospital gown. He stepped out cautiously and ducked into the next room over. The dog in the room was asleep. Folded on the chair beside him were some clothes. Con snuck up to the chair and lifted off a large black hoodie and some jeans. They were two sizes too big for him, but they'd have to do.

He folded the hospital gown and tucked it into the trash can, and then stepped back into the hall with the black hood up.  _I need a belt, damnit._ He walked to the front desk and glanced over the counter at the raccoon working.

"Can I help you?" She asked.

Con started at the realization that she was speaking to him. He glanced over his shoulder, but he was the only other person in the vicinity. "Uh... what's the name of this hospital?"

She gave him a look like he was a crazy homeless man. "This is the Fourth Cornerian Space Medical Station."

"Ah. Space. Uh.. thanks." He turned away and quickly walked down a hallway. "Space. I'm on a space station hospital. Wonderful. I'm trapped, unable to ghost, in the middle of space, in a hospital." He muttered to himself, rolling his eyes in exasperation. "I don't know how this could get any better."

A scream came from several rooms down; a scream he knew.

"Krystal!"

Without hesitation, he bolted towards the sound.

( **Meanwhile..** )

Krystal awoke with a foul taste in her mouth. The scent of strong chemicals accosted her senses. Her eyes slowly opened to the sight of a white paneled ceiling. Images of a terrible monster flashed through her mind, as if from a dream. She lifted her hand to her head and rubbed her temple.

_I've killed them..._

It was her own voice, but the remorse in it frightened her.

Several hundred thought patterns flooded her mind as it awoke. In her disoriented state, she had neglected to put up her mind's defenses. She covered her head with her hands, as if it would drown out the voices. There were so many at once, she could not make out a single word that was being said. "Stop... stop it... make it stop!" She stood up, squinting her eyes shut. Every thought pattern in the building was being channeled through her mind, like a hundred thousand radios all being used at the same time on the same frequency.

An IV jerked on her hand as she tried to walk away. She fell to the floor, still holding her head, and screamed.

"Krystal!" A voice broke through the others, distinctive though faint. A soft hand touched her shoulder. "Focus on me! Focus on me, and drown them out!"

Her eyes flew open, but the face in front of her wobbled back and forth. "Tony?"

"Krystal, just focus. Focus on the presence right in front of you."

"Help me!"

"I can't. I can't use my telepathy anymore. You need to drown it out yourself! Focus on me."

She closed her eyes tightly and fought with her mind. The presence in front of her felt safe; caring. Her mind was too crowded to pinpoint his thought patterns, but from his voice and his face she knew it was Tony. Slowly but surely, she drowned out the voices until it was quiet enough to secure her mind block. The presence faded slowly. When she had finished, she opened her eyes.

Tony was gone.

With her mind block finally in place, she noticed an emptiness in her soul. She brought her hand to her chest with a concerned expression on her face.  _What's going on? Why do I feel like part of me has died? What's missing?_

She stood from the ground and sat down on the hospital bed. For the first time, she realized she was in a hospital.  _That explains my feeling of dread, and all of the strong voices. People in hospitals are more emotional, and stronger emotions are much louder to telepaths. But this emptiness... where did this come from? I've...I think I've felt this way before, but not since..._

Katt opened her door, and at the sight of her blue furred friend, tears sprang to her eyes. "Krystal, you're awake..."

"What happened?"

"Kevin's dead."

The words hit like a cement block. The vixen's shoulders drooped and her face fell. She didn't need further convincing; the feeling of emptiness was all she needed as confirmation. The last time she had felt so empty was the day her father was killed. "I...how?"

"He was murdered..." Katt's voice trembled as she spoke. "Shot in the stomach."

A dark look came to Krystal's face. The tears that spilled down her cheeks looked out of place. "By who?"

The feline swallowed. "There's not conclusive evidence. But I think we can take a guess."

"That woman."

"And her partner."

"I'll kill them... I'll destroy them with my bare hands!" The vixen choked. She hung her head in her hands.

Fox opened the door. "I.. I heard about your brother..." He hurried to Krystal's side and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Are you... are you feeling okay?"

"No... they killed my brother. This... this is beyond personal, now. I swear... I'm going to stop them. I'll kill them if I have to. This has gone far enough and I swear I will end it, whatever the consequences."

"Whoa, easy there. I'm not gonna let you murder anyone. We  _will_  stop them. Together, as a team. The General has just informed me about a new mission, which happens to be to track down and capture the people behind the Titania disaster. That means going after Vivian and her partner. We're going to find them, and we'll bring them to justice. I promise you."

She slowly nodded.

"How are you feeling, physically?"

"I'm alright."

"That's good. I... I don't know how much you remember. You've been out for a couple of days, now."

"I remember being..." She shook her head, and then her eyes widened. "We were underground. The water was..."

"The water was electrified, and you passed out. Do you remember anything after that?"

"Vaguely. I had a dream..."

"What did you dream about?"

She opened her mouth, but hesitated. An image of Fox sitting by the water came to her mind. The words he was saying had made it difficult for her not to cry.  _I dreamed you said you loved me..._  She shook her head. "It's...foggy. I remember waking up, but... I don't know what happened. And then I... I dreamed I had... I had killed something. Something big... maybe it was... a lot of things. And that's it."

Fox nodded. "You did... A monster came through a portal, threatening the lives of everyone on Titania. It was several times the size of the King RedEye back on Sauria. You stopped it. You saved everyone."

"What? How?"

"I don't really know how to explain it. That blue energy you use sometimes, I think it was amplified somehow. It was white. You took that thing down like it was nothing."

She stared at him. "I...I remember killing it... but it didn't feel like me. It felt like a dream."

Fox shook his head. "It wasn't a dream."

"You can't let anyone know that it comes from you, Krystal." Katt said.

"What?"

"Your powers... you can't show them to anyone. Fox and I told them it came from your staff, and they tried to take it. We hid it on the Great Fox, but even after that, we had to contact General Pepper and have him order them to leave it alone. They're still dying to get their hands on it. Krystal, if they knew that  _you_  had the power? You'd be abducted in a heartbeat. And God knows what they'd do to you. Experiments, tests, dissections..."

The vixen's eyes were wide.

"Now that you're actually awake, we should leave immediately." Fox said. "I don't want you to relapse here. Katt's right; they'll lock you up. Katt, will you go make sure they'll release her? If they argue, tell them we have a medical bay aboard our ship that we can use from here on out. Make excuses. Just make sure we're leaving today, as soon as possible."

"I'm on it." The feline stood and left the room.

"Where's Tony?"

"I don't know. We haven't heard from him since you and I went down the trap." Fox shifted uneasily.

She gave him a worried look. "But... I thought I saw him, just a few minutes ago."

"What do you mean?"

"When I woke up, I didn't have my mind protected properly. Hospitals are..." She hesitated, searching for the right words. "It's hell for a telepath. Large amounts of people in proximity can be annoying, but when people are scared, or confused, or in pain, their thoughts and thought patterns are amplified. A telepath near them becomes like a transmitter for every single thought running through their heads; every one of them. I didn't realize I was in a hospital until I woke up, and suddenly all of these thoughts were screaming at me in my head, like a thousand distress calls at once. I couldn't drown them out. But... I saw Tony, I know I did. He came through the door, and he told me to focus on him to drown them out. It worked, but when I looked up he was gone."

Fox straightened up a bit, a thoughtful look on his face.  _He came in to help, but then immediately vanished. That doesn't sound like Tony at all. That sounds more like Con... but Krystal saw Tony. If Con is really Tony's twin brother, then Tony is definitely..._

Krystal looked at Fox and placed her hand over his. "Are you okay?"

He looked at her and blinked, snapping out of his thoughts. "Yeah, I'm fine now. I've got healing patches for my ribs and my arm, and I'm almost back to full health."

She raised a brow. "I can't sense you again."

He shrugged, but the way he avoided looking her in the eyes gave him away. He had brought the broken chip with him and had Slippy repair it. The amphibian didn't know what it was for, but he was good enough at fixing things that it still worked.

"Are you hiding something?"

"No!" He said quickly, glancing at her and then averting his gaze again.

She looked at him sadly, studying his face. "You're a bad liar."

Katt stepped in the room, saving Fox from having to explain himself. "We're clear to go." She looked at each of their faces. "Don't look so happy about it, jeeze."

Fox stood up silently and left the room.

( **Meanwhile...** )

The feline stood at the door, a determined air about her. She looked in at the back of his chair. The room was dark, lit only by a small window across from the door and the light of his monitor. It smelled old and musky, like the rest of the building. The walls were a rusty color. She took a deep breath of the musky air, and exhaled. "I quit."

"Excuse me?" He spun around in his desk chair, turning his attention away from the computer screen he had been mulling over.

"I quit. I'm done."

"With what?" His tone was filled with irritation.

"With this. With... the hiding, and the murder, and the scheming..."

"You mean with trying to kill her, don't you?"

"Yes. I'm done with it."

"You can't quit. You started this."

"I know that! And now I'm ending it."

He sighed with an exasperated air, staring off to the side for a moment before glaring back at her. "You can't just  _quit._ " _  
_

"Well, I'm doing it! I'm tired of this! I have murdered every single one of my family members so far." Her voice caught in her throat, and she swallowed as her eyes welled up with tears. "I was given a second chance at life, so that I could have a family, and I have single handedly caused the destruction of nearly every member of that family. I'm done with it. I'm ending it here."

"You can't do that to me. I'll die!" His voice rose in volume as his desperation increased.

"You'll die eventually anyways!" She threw up her arms, and as they came back down, placed her hands on her hips.

"Yes, but if I die of natural causes,  _I won't go to purgatory_!" He yelled.

"I can't kill her! I'm done with murdering..." Two tears spilled down her cheeks, dampening two trails of fur in their wake.

"Oh, shut off the waterworks. If you want to leave now, do it. I'll finish this alone." He began to turn back around.

"No, you won't. I'm done with this, and you're going to solemnly promise me that you will not harm her. When I leave here, I'm going to make sure that you hold true to that promise."

He rolled his eyes. "Or what?"

She pulled out the gun that had been tucked in the back of her jeans. "Or I'll kill you."

He stood up, suddenly paying more attention to her. "Let's not do anything rash. I thought you were done with the murdering."

"But if you aren't, then that means killing you now will save future lives."

He smiled. "You're just as vicious as before. Come on, sweetheart, I'm sure once you calm down you'll come to your senses. I  _am_  going to kill her, like you asked me to." He stepped towards her.

"Whatever you're planning, stop. All I want is her safety. If you take one more step I'm going to shoot you. I'm so tired of this! I'm tired of the ridiculous schemes and the bullshi-"

He took one long stride to close the gap between them and in one smooth move, he swiped her arm above his head, drew a knife, and plunged it into her gut. "The line I was eagerly waiting for was, 'over my dead body.' I really am a sucker for such perfect setups." He grinned as she stared into his eyes with horror.

"She will stop you..." The girl said softly. She reached to her arm and pressed a button on her wrist device, vanishing into thin air.

( **Meanwhile...** )

The members of Star Fox returned to their ship, now that their leader and Krystal were almost in full health. Grateful for a pause in a long line of stressful events, each of them wandered off to be on their own. Fox rather purposefully avoided Krystal, feeling increasingly guilty for lying to her. The fact that she had called him out on the lying worsened the guilt. He locked himself in his room, hoping that no one would ask him to come out.

 _This is one bet I was destined to lose. The only way to win is to lie to her, but in lying to her, I am losing. Even if I had the willpower to pursue her like that, she wouldn't have me at this point. I'm a filthy goddamned liar._ He lay back on his bed and stared at the ceiling hopelessly.  _Maybe I should just tell her..._

There was a knock at the door. When he refused to acknowledge it, Falco used an override code to open the door. "I hope you're not jerkin it, cuz I'm coming in."

"I locked that!" Fox protested.

"Yeah? And I was there when you made up the override code." Falco rolled his eyes, closing the door behind him and leaning back on it in a lazy manner. "I'm tired of seeing you down in the dumps. What the hell is going on with you?"

"I made a mistake."

"I've noticed Krystal and you have been pretty distant lately. Does that have something to do with it?"

"It's my fault, Falco. Tony wanted to make a deal with me. He said that whoever could sleep with her first would have her forever. And I... I was stupid enough to agree."

"What?!"

"Yeah, I know, it was a mistake for me to think that-..."

"No, Foxie, you could've won that weeks ago. Everyone can tell she's smitten with you. Seriously, if you had the spine to pull a move on her I doubt there'd be an ounce of competition."

"But I... she wouldn't... she wouldn't go for me if I tried to make a move like that."

"Fox, she's as smitten with you as Katt used to be with me. I messed that up majorly... but you? She's still into you, Fox."

"That's nice, but..."

"No, you're not listening. All you have to do is go out there and get her. Yeah, it's a damn stupid bet to make when the challenge is a telepath. But I'm sure she either knows by now or-"

"She doesn't. I've been using a chip to hide my thoughts from her. But that's made her suspicious. She asked if I was hiding something and I told her I wasn't. I lied to her face, and she knew I was lying."

"Well, you goofed there."

"That's what I'm saying!" Fox groaned.

"But you haven't blown it yet. You could still hit that."

"It's not about having sex with her. It's about her heart. Cerinian women only sleep with guys they-"

"Bullshit. Women are women. She loves you. Everything's a little awkward right now between you guys, but if you just apologized to her went for it, I highly doubt she'd turn you down."

"When am I going to get that chance, though?"

Falco chortled. "You're on your own personal space ship with a private room to yourself, sound dampeners included. Go, apologize for lying, and bed that woman like your life depends on it Foxie because if you don't, I swear, you're going to regret it for the rest of your life."

"Some 'private room'..." Fox grumbled.

"Hey, I'll leave ya alone after this, but we needed this talk." Falco patted him on the shoulder. "Go get her."

Fox sighed, sitting on the edge of his mattress in the empty room.

Outside, Krystal ambled down the hallway. She passed Falco on the way to his room, and offered a courteous smile. He simply nodded and walked past. More than anything, she wanted to speak to Fox. She wanted to ask him why he'd lied to her, what was so important that he couldn't tell her? And more importantly, how was he hiding his thoughts? Her steps were slow and with each one she took, she wanted to turn back to the safety of her room.  _No, I'm going to do it. I'm going to ask him, because it's bothering me that he'd lie to me. And I'm angry with him. And I don't want to be angry with him. I need to resolve this as soon as possible._

Her eyes drifted along the floor, where she saw a drop of blood. She stared at it for a second, and then walked closer. Another drop of blood was a few feet away. And then a small pool. Just beyond the pool was a pair of black boots. She followed the boots along a black jumpsuit to a white furred face.

"You!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Falco up in here talking sense for once.
> 
> Falco: Hey, watch it!
> 
> Me: I... I was watching. It was impressive.
> 
> Falco: r...really? Do you think Katt saw?
> 
> Me: Pfft. No. Her ex, who's a total sweetheart by the way, was just murdered. She's gonna be crying for a bit.
> 
> Falco: God damnit. Why are you like this?
> 
> Me: Who knows. Anyways... tune in next time to see Krystal's reaction to Vivian bleeding on her personal space.


	33. Sister

Con escaped the main area of the hospital and ran down a hallway towards what he thought was the docking bay. First things first. He needed a ship.

Since other people could now see and hear him, he would have to be more cautious. A realization struck him. He'd been holding the rock when the water touched the circuits. The rock had the power to give him life. It was what had given him his ability to ghost in the first place, and what held his soul to the world. And now here he was, able to be seen and heard by people once again.

The rock had brought him fully back. The rock... But where was it now?

The passage. The base. He must have dropped it when he passed out.

He busted the lock on a small one man ship and climbed in. The alarm blared. He yanked the secondhand alarm system out of the dash and threw it across the deck. "If you're still using  _that_  tech, you deserve to have your ship stolen." He muttered, blasting out of the Docking Bay. The medical station moved around often, but it still wasn't far from Titania due to the amount of casualties and injuries.

He landed the ship in the sand with all the grace of an elephant in a tightrope ballet.

The desert was hot, and he was a bit farther from the base than he wished to be. He sprinted through the hot sand, calves aching and body sweating. He reached the research facility and stopped short at the door to catch his breath. The door was off its hinges, and the lights inside flickered on and off. The floor had sunken in slightly and leaned to the right.

He stepped in cautiously. Bodies lay across the floor. He frowned. It appeared as though someone had come through and shot everyone.

He hurried towards the secret entrance, avoiding bodies as he ran. The door was ajar, and frost leaked out from inside. "Shit." He stepped inside, shivering. The ground was covered in ice. Down the staircase, a solid level of frozen water blocked further entrance. He yelled angrily, throwing an energy blast at it. With all the damage, the nitrogen pump had busted open and caught the water.

White energy peeled off his body and smashed through the ice, leaving shattered bits everywhere. He blinked. "Shoes... I need shoes." It took him several minutes to find a pair of shoes in his size among the bodies. He apologized to the deceased hedgehog and donned the work boots. Bit by bit, he blasted away the ice down to the hallway where he'd lost the stone, making crunching noises as he stepped forward on the small pieces.

There was no light in the tunnel, but the stone lit the ice aglow. He crawled along the surface, searching for the spot that was brighter than the rest. "There!" He smashed the ice out of the way and grabbed up the stone. "Thank heavens."

He got out of the base as quickly as he could, stopping only once to take the key to another space ship. He found it in the upper levels of the facility, where the employee docking bay was located. Now that he could be seen and heard, his advantage of being invisible was gone. On the other hand, the stone's energy had never been so strong inside his body.

Even if he couldn't stop time any longer, he could still help Krystal. His mission was to protect her with his life.

And he wasn't about to fail.

( **Meanwhile...** )

Vivian pressed the button on her wrist, holding her breath. Everything blurred for a moment, and then the surrounding details came into focus. Gray. Metal walls. She was there. She sighed in relief, and winced at the pain. She had to find Krystal. Somehow, she had to survive. She doubled over, groaning in agony.

Her lungs heaved air heavily as she limped down the hall. Her mind swirled with horrible outcomes.  _What if they aren't on the ship yet? What if I die here, as her enemy? She has no reason to help me... I deserve to be shot on sight, and I would not be surprised at all if they did. Even if I find her, she won't listen to me... I tried to kill her and her friends. I murdered her entire family..._  She dragged herself another agonizing step. There were doors on either side of the hall. Which one was Krystal's?

She limped another few inches. Blood seeped through her fingers and dripped onto the floor. She took a few more pained steps and leaned weakly against the wall. A small puddle began to form below her. She took another step, struggling to stay upright. Nausea swept through her, and for a moment she was unsure if she would rather faint or vomit.

She knew she would die if she didn't find help soon. Perhaps they weren't back yet… She closed her eyes, resting her head back against the metal wall. She hardly had the strength to cough when blood came up her throat. Two silent tears dampened her cheeks. She stood there for several minutes, not possessing the will to move any further.

A gasp startled her. "You!"

Vivian jerked her head up, staring at the blue vixen. A tinge of hatred entered her heart, but it was replaced with sorrow. For a moment, neither of them moved. The feline tried to stand on her own, but stumbled to the floor instead. "I'm… sorry…" She muttered.

Krystal stood motionless for several seconds, at a loss. "How did you get in here!?" She demanded.

"I… teleported…" Vivian said weakly, barely managing to pull herself back to her feet. "I... I need your help."

"And why in the world would I help you? You've brought me nothing but pain. You killed my brother. He was the only family I had left. What, have you come to finish me off?" Krystal snapped, slightly surprised by the hostility in her own voice.

"You're wrong...he...he's not the only family..." She wretched a mouthful of blood onto the floor, clutching the wall with trembling arms. "If you help me... I will help you... I know a lot...about Cerinia. I can help you catch him..."

"How do I know I can believe you?"

Before she could respond, Vivian collapsed.

"Fox!" Krystal screamed.

The leader burst out of his room. "Wha-...?"

"I found her here. She needs help, or she's going to die."

"Isn't that...?"

"It doesn't matter! She's dying! We save lives, don't we?"

Fox stared at Krystal for a few seconds before raising his wrist com to his mouth. "We have an unexpected intruder who needs our help. Rob, ready the medical bay."

"Thank you..."

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't immediately tell General Pepper she's here." He said.

"Because we don't have her partner."

"So, what? Once she's in custody, I'm sure she'll talk."

"Then do it for me, because I'm asking you not to."

He opened his mouth to protest, but sighed softly instead.

"And don't think it's going to get you out of the conversation about your lying habit later, either."

He cringed inwardly.

"Now, can we take her into medical before she bleeds out entirely onto the floor?"

"And by 'we' you mean me." Fox lifted the lithe feline into his arms and carried her to the medical room, slightly on edge and somewhat expecting her to come awake and stab him. He laid her down on the medical bed.

Krystal peered over his shoulder. "She probably needs stitches."

"Are you doing the honors?" He asked.

"I'm a telepath, not a doctor."

"I'm going to run a scan to make sure there aren't any internal damages. She may need surgery. We don't have an official medic on the ship..."

Slippy opened the door, eyes widening at the wounded girl. "Who is she?"

Fox exchanged a look with Krystal. "We don't know yet."

"She's been stabbed! Fox, I had a robotic medic installed. Run the scan, and it should fix her up automatically."

"That's handy." He pressed the scan button. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I kinda forgot. It can perform simpler medical procedures like stitches or setting a broken arm, but not major surgeries like transplants or anything."

The trio watched as the metal arms came out of the wall and began to stitch up the wound.

"She's incredibly lucky to not have internal damage."

Krystal turned to her green skinned teammate. "Slippy, would you excuse us?"

"Oh, uh... sure." The frog awkwardly hopped out of the room.

Krystal turned to Fox with her arms crossed. He glanced at her and then turned away. "Don't pretend you didn't see me. I may not be able to read your mind, but I can still read your face."

He remained silent.

"Are you going to tell me why you lied to me, or do I really have to ask?"

"I'm trying to protect you."

"From what? There are two people in this world trying desperately to get my head on a platter, and one of them is two feet away from me. Do you think I can't take care of myself?"

"No! That's not it at all."

"Then tell me. What are you hiding?"

"I can't tell you. I made a promise that I wouldn't."

"To who?"

He took a deep breath.

"So, you can't tell me that either?"

"I made a promise, and I keep my promises."

"Why did you lie to me?"

"I just told you."

"No, you told me why you can't tell me what you're hiding. You lied to me, Fox. You betrayed my trust. Why can't I sense you?"

He sighed, flipping open his vest to reveal the black clip. "It's a device to block the abilities of telepaths."

"At least I know I'm not crazy, now." She crossed her arms and stared at the girl lying unconscious on the medical table.

"Did she say anything to you?" He asked.

"She said she needed my help. She said if I help her, she'll help me, and that she knows something about Cerinia."

"And you believe her?"

Krystal gave him a sideways glare. "She hasn't  _lied_  to me, has she?"

Fox crossed his arms as well.  _I'm just making things worse... She's going to find out sooner or later, and I'm going to get most of the blame, because I'm the one who lied to her. Why did I have to lie...? I don't want to lose her. He planned this... he knew I'd lose her like this. And then there's the very real possibility that he's the one who's been trying to kill her. What if that's the reason he's doing this? I lose her trust, she doesn't believe me when I warn her. She goes to him... with me out of the picture, and her trust in him, he can just..._ He involuntarily shuddered at the thought.

"What?"

"Nothing. No, not nothing. Just... I don't want you to have to worry about it right now. I wanted to tell you, but... it got more complicated."

"I don't even know what's going on. I don't know how you feel. I can't read your thought patterns or sense your presence. What if you're working with her?"

"What?!" He stepped back, shocked and somewhat offended. "How could you accuse me of that?!"

"The death threats didn't start until I joined your team. She couldn't have just waltzed onto the ship without someone noticing, or do you expect me to believe your security is that loose? She probably had help onto the ship. I can read everyone else's mind, so I know they wouldn't dare cross me like that. But I can't read yours. How do I know you didn't let her onto the ship to kill me?"

He stared at her, horrified.  _This is what he wanted... he wanted her not to trust me. She's going to think it's me, and she's going to go to him. He's the killer! I'm sure of it! But I don't have any proof... Shit._ He turned away for a few seconds, but then turned back to her. "Krystal, I would  _never_  do something like that to you. If she used a short range teleport with a predetermined lock on, she could get on the ship from Titania because we're orbiting it. The first I knew of her being here was when you screamed. If I had let her on the ship to kill you, don't you think I would hear your scream and think she was killing you, and let her?"

She looked at him with a blank expression. "Maybe you came to make sure she had finished the job."

"I'm trying to protect you. Con told me that I have to protect you with my life, and that's what I've been doing. You really want to accuse me of being the bad guy here?" His voice sounded genuinely hurt.

"Why did you lie to me?"

"Because I'm afraid!" He raised his voice. "I'm afraid of losing you!"

She blinked, surprised by his outburst.

"I have wanted you in my life since the second I laid eyes on you. When I saw you at the Krazoa Palace, trapped in that crystal, I thought that you were the most beautiful woman I'd ever laid eyes on. And I still think that! Do you want to know why I saved Dinosaur Planet? I didn't do it for the goddamn money. Every single thing on that planet was overly complicated. It wasn't easy, and it wasn't what I'm used to, either! I almost gave up and handed the mission over to other mercenaries. Every time it seemed like I was about to be successful, something else came up to make my life more difficult. I didn't save Dinosaur Planet out of the kindness of my heart, because I could just as easily have handed the job to someone else more qualified, and in truth that would have been so much more simple for me.

"I didn't do it for the money, because the payment for that job wasn't even half of what it should have been. I slept in the dirt for days. I ate freaky eggs out of wooden boxes to stay alive. I got captured, hit upside the head, nearly froze to death, almost fell into lava, oh, and let's not forget letting some crazy purple spirit possess me. I didn't do it for Tricky, because as fond as I am of him, he drove me absolutely crazy! There were moments I wanted to throw him off a damn cliff so I didn't have to hear his whining anymore. No, I did it for you. I was ready to give up by the time I got to Dragon Rock, because I was sick and tired of running around doing seemingly pointless tasks. Hell, I barely survived the Test of Fear. I  _still_  have nightmares about surviving that. But I kept going, you know why? Because I wanted to meet  _you_. I wanted to make sure that you were safe. I wanted to see you free, and I wanted to hold you in my arms, and at the very, very least, I wanted to meet you." He struggled to keep his voice steady, but his watery eyes betrayed his emotion.

The vixen gazed at him, speechless.

"I asked you to join the team, not because we needed an extra hand. Falco and Katt both rejoined at the same time I left to find you. I wanted you on this team for  _me._ " He swallowed. "I wanted to be closer to you. I wanted to spend time with you, and get to know you. And now that I know you, I don't want to lose you. Now, believe me when I tell you that I am not always smart. I don't always make good decisions. The decision to lie to you is one of the worst I've ever made, but it's not still not as bad as why I'm wearing this god forsaken chip on my vest. I know you're going to find out about it sooner or later, but I'm really hoping for later, because I am terrified of losing you because of it. And I want you to know, when you do find out, that I regret making that decision more than anything in my life so far. And if I could take it back, I would."

"What did you do?"

"I made a deal with someone. A bet, of sorts."

"So? Call it off."

"I don't know how. It's complicated. The damage is done, I've lost your trust, and I can't take back agreeing to it in the first place."

"Call it off, and then we'll never speak of it. If it's really that bad, just call it off."

"I don't know if I can, but even if I do, you're still going to find out about it."

"You're acting like you killed someone and hid the body in my bedroom or something."

"No, it's... it's not that severe. I didn't kill anyone, there's no bodies lying around."

"Then I don't understand why it's such a big deal. Everyone's made mistakes, Fox. You're the leader of this team. I have to be able to trust you. If I can't trust you, I can't be a part of this team."

He was silent for a moment. "It's not just that... there's something else I'm hiding. It doesn't involve me, but it involves you. I just... I have to be sure about it. Once I know for sure, without a doubt, I'll tell you. Do you think you'll be able to forgive me?"

"I don't know what you did, Fox. But I know that you're a good person. I can't promise to forgive you if I don't know what you did. But I'll try to be understanding."

Hope flooded his veins. He stepped to her and embraced her. "Thank you..."

"I hate to interrupt this tender moment..." the girl's voice said, "but I believe we need to have a serious talk."

The foxes separated and faced the woman, who was watching them distastefully.

"Welcome to the land of the living." Fox said.

She glared at him. "If you don't mind, I need to have a little heart to heart with your girlfriend."

He exchanged a look with Krystal. "If she tries anything, just holler. I'll be right outside."

The vixen turned to her former enemy. "Why are you here?"

"I had hoped the circumstances of our meeting would go a bit differently. As you saw, I was wounded. The Titania research team has footage of... me, killing most of their missing staff... I'm not on anyone's good side right now. I had no choice but to come here."

"Is this some sort of scheme to kill me?"

"No... I'm done with the schemes. I'm done trying to kill you."

"Why the change of heart?"

"I know you have no reason to believe me, so what I'm about to tell you is going to be a bit hard to swallow. I'm originally from Corneria. My name was Angel. I grew up on the streets after running away from several foster homes. My life was miserable. I stole a ship when I was seventeen, and I crash landed on Cerinia. I almost died in the crash, and then I was attacked by a dinosaur. I should have died, but I didn't. I was rescued by a Guardian. He asked me what I wanted most, and I said a family. So he took my soul out of my dying body, and he transferred it to this body, which was just being born. My name now is Vivian. I grew up on Cerinia without the memories of my past life, but they started seeping through in visions by the time I was ten.

"My past life is something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy, and as a ten year old girl I started re living it in my dreams. When I was fourteen, and you were seven, I accidentally murdered my mother." Her voice cracked and tears filled her eyes. "When I was twenty four, I took part in destroying Cerinia. I murdered my father in cold blood. I ran away, I came here, and I blamed you. I blamed you for my visions, I blamed you for my banishment from the village, I blamed you for the death of my parents."

"How is any of that my fault?!" Krystal cried.

"It isn't your fault. I was banished when you were born, but it's not your fault for being born. I fell in love with a man who loves you, but it's not your fault he didn't love me. I blamed you because it was easy. And I sought to kill you for it. I murdered my own little brother... and in his last breath, he made me realize how wrong I've been."

"How would  _my_  birth cause  _your_  banishment?"

"There were rules on Cerinia for strict population control. Each household was to have no more than two children."

"Yes, I know. What does that have to do with me?"

"I was the oldest of my siblings. Mom had a son, my little brother. And then she had another daughter. My little brother's name was Kevin."

Krystal stiffened, staring at the feline in a state of angry disbelief. "No..."

Vivian looked down, tears forming in her eyes. She took a deep breath and looked Krystal in the eye. "I'm your sister."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boy oh boy, Fox is just digging himself into a grave. Tune in next time to see Krystal go ballistic on the person who murdered her family.
> 
> Vivian: Oh god, I'm going to die. ._.
> 
> Me: Good luuuck!


	34. Graveyard

Krystal stood in the medical bay, frustrated and angry. "My sister?" She desperately hoped that the cat was lying, but she wasn't. "So you're telling me my sister murdered my entire family?"

"I... I'm sorry." Vivian began to sob, but no empathy was offered from the blue vixen.

"You destroyed my home! You destroyed my family! And you tried very, very hard to destroy me as well."

"Mom's death was an accident!"

"Oh, that's supposed to make it better? You not only murdered my family, you tore them apart before you did it!" She ignored the tears that were dampening her cheeks. "You are evil! You disgust me. We may be related by blood, but you are no family of mine."

"Just tell me what I can do. Anything! I'll do anything!"

"How about you bring back my dead family!"

"They're my family too! You don't think if I would do that if I could?"

"Well, then we have nothing to talk about. Get off my ship."

"Wait!" She pressed a button on her arm, and a bag materialized beside her. "I want you to stop him."

"Who?"

"Who do you think?"

Krystal rolled her eyes. "Right, Con's mysterious evil brother, who everyone knows except for me. I'm so tired of this! I just want to live my life in peace."

"And you can! There's a way to save Cerinia... and it might bring back your family. Wait, you don't know who he is, do you?"

"No, I don't. No one will tell me."

"Take these." Vivian opened the bag and held up two staves nearly identical to Krystal's, but with white and red gems, respectively. "Take these to the temple in Cerinia. There are four others that you need. Once you get them, pass the temple tests and use them to advance. I don't know what it will do, exactly, but I do know that it will save Cerinia."

"Nothing short of turning back time will save Cerinia. You made sure of that."

"I don't know how it works! I just know what I was told by the people who created the temple. The Guardians made the temple as a safety device, and when it's activated, Cerinia will be saved. That's what they told me. That's all I know."

Krystal sighed. "Who is your partner?"

"If you haven't figured that out already, I'm not going to tell you. You won't believe me, anyways. Just save Cerinia, and he will die. He and Con and I will all disappear forever."

The vixen grabbed the two staves. "I need four more?"

"There are seven total. Red, blue, white, black, purple, yellow, green."

"Thank you. Now, get off my ship."

"Can I ask...just one favor? And then you won't have to see me ever again."

Krystal sighed. "What is it?"

"Can you take me to Corneria?"

Krystal sighed again.

"There's an old friend that I... I want to say goodbye to. I'll go willingly to the military, and you will get your reward, if that's what you want. But my friend... he died today, several years ago. I never got to pay respects."

"We could get into real trouble by harboring you."

"I know... and if you do get caught, I will swear to them that you had no knowledge of me being here. I will take the blame."

"I'll talk to Fox."

"Krystal..." She touched her sister's arm. "Thank you."

The vixen didn't reply, exiting the room.

Fox stood in the hallway. "How'd it go?"

"Can we go to Corneria?"

"Are...are we turning her in now?"

"I can't do that."

"What?! Why?"

"She's my sister."

Fox blinked. "You're joking, right?"

"I was not raised with her. I've never even met her before all this. She was banished when I was born, because Cerinian households are only permitted to have two children. My father only spoke of her once, and Kevin mentioned her a few times, but I didn't know who they were talking about. By their tone I thought someone had died. I could sense her thought patterns. She was telling the truth."

"She doesn't look anything like you."

"No, but she does look a lot like my grandmother. My mother had a lot of fox-like features from her father, and I inherited from her and my father. It seems that Vivian got our grandmother's genes."

"What about finding her partner?"

"She said that if I take these staves to Cerinia and place them in the temple, he will die."

"How do we know she's telling the truth?"

"Telepathy. She received the information from the Guardians. They're... the gods of Cerinia, basically. They created Cerinia and the temple. I'm actually inclined to believe her."

"So, I'm guessing getting that bonus is going to be a little more difficult than I first thought."

"She wants to go to Corneria to say goodbye to a friend of hers. And then we're going to take her to Cerinia. Her and I will go to the temple and fix this. You're not allowed to follow me, okay? Your technology doesn't work on the planet's surface. Your arwing will die as soon as it touches the atmosphere, and people not of Cerinian descent will die within a day. The air is toxic to your lungs."

"Point taken." Fox motioned her to follow him and walked to the bridge. "Rob, set course for Corneria." He turned back to Krystal. "Since you're doing most of the work on this mission, I'll give you the highest bonus. Whatever we get in total, you'll get forty percent of it. The other sixty will get split among the rest of us and ship maintenance."

"That's not necessary. We're a team. We each get an equal share."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. You're giving just as much time as I am to this, even if my job is going to be a bit harder."

"I guess so. If you change your mind at any time before we get paid, let me know."

The ship groaned as it turned towards Corneria.

"Would you like to use the Warp Gate technology to travel to our home planet, Corneria?" Rob asked in monotone.

"If possible."

"The complicated part of this mission is going to be getting me back to the ship. Technology doesn't work on Cerinia. The entire atmosphere is like a giant EMP. When Katt was on the planet, she managed to fix up a few things, but they broke down immediately afterwards. The only source of energy we have is the staves, but they're going into the temple. I'm not sure if we'll be able to remove them again."

"What about that stone?"

"Con has it. If I can get it back from him before we go..."

"I can have Slippy hard wire your arwing to the stone so that you'll be able to land and take off from Cerinia safely."

"That's perfect." She smiled. "Two birds with one stone, yes? Saving Cerinia,  _and_  catching the bad guy."

"Kill the bad guy, save the world. What else is new? I've already saved the damsel." He winked. "I'll see if we can get hotel reservations for tonight. Whereabouts is Vivian's friend?"

"Corneria City Cemetary." Vivian replied from the hallway.

"Ah." Fox looked up, and then turned his face down. "My condolences."

"How long have you been standing there?" Krystal asked.

"Long enough. I'm glad you've decided to save Cerinia. I wish I could be there to see the planet's restoration."

"I can hardly wait for it. I'm desperate to know how it's going to work. Everyone's dead."

"I wish I could tell you. The Guardians brought  _me_  back to life. Maybe they can do the same to the village. I hope I can stick around long enough to... to see mom again."

"The Guardians are the ones who are fixing everything, yes?"

The feline nodded.

"Perhaps I can ask a request, to keep you and Con alive."

"You'd do that?"

She nodded slightly. "I may not be very fond of you, but you do seem to be trying to undo what you've done."

Tears filled Vivian's eyes. "Thank you."

"Hey, Fox, are we mo-WHAT IS SHE DOING HERE?!" Katt shouted, pointing an accusatory finger at Vivian.

Krystal turned around to calm her friend. "It's all right."

"It is  _not_  all right. It is so far from all right."

"She's helping us, now. We're going to save Cerinia, Katt. There's a slim chance that everyone from the village can still be saved."

"She murdered Kevin." Katt stared at her friend with teary eyes.

"It wasn't her." Krystal lied. "It was her partner. Katt, she's my sister. She's Kevin's older sister. She's trying to help us."

Katt shook her head. "I can't be here with her. I'll kill her."

"She's not going to hurt anyone else!" Krystal insisted. "Once we place the staves in the temple, Cerinia will be safe, and her partner will die. She is helping us."

"I don't believe it. I don't trust her."

"I can hear you." Vivian cut in.

"Good, you slithery bitch!"

"Katt!" Fox snapped. "Cool off."

The pink furred feline stormed off the bridge.

Krystal turned to Vivian. "I'm sorry. Just avoid her."

Rob beeped. "Arrival at Corneria in T-minus ten minutes."

"Go get packed up for the night. I'll make reservations." Fox said.

In ten minutes, the ship was in orbit. Krystal took Vivian into Slippy's tool room. "We can't be seen with you, or we'll be in trouble and you'll be arrested. They have video evidence of you, right?"

"Yeah."

"This should help." She took a chunk of coal from a box and rubbed it around Vivian's face, giving her the appearance of black and grey fur. She then worked down her tail.

"Thank you..."

"Yeah, I don't fancy being arrested and taking down the entire team with me."

"Understandable..."

"Wear this." The vixen took a sweater with a hood out of her room and handed it to her sister. "It's late right now, so there are less people about on the street. But we can't be too careful. We'll take you to the graveyard, and then we're going to a hotel for the night."

The Star Fox team flew down to the planet in their separate arwings. Vivian hid in the storage compartment of Krystal's arwing. When they landed, Krystal looked around to ensure no one was watching before she opened the compartment and helped her sister climb out.

"God, it's stuffy in there. And  _cold_."

"Sorry. We couldn't risk giving you your own ship." She looked around, and then lifted on the hood of her own sweater. "Come on. Let's go. I'll escort you to the graveyard."

The girls hailed a taxi. The drive to the cemetery was short and uneventful.

Vivian walked slowly to a tall gravestone, decorated with medals of honor and several bouquets of flowers. "Do you mind giving me a few moments alone?"

"Of course." Krystal glanced at the name on the stone and gasped softly. She quickly stepped away.

"I'm sorry..." Vivian knelt at the foot of the grave. "I am so far from who I was when I met you. You saved my life... and I'm sure now, you're looking down with regret on that decision. You were the savior of your world, and I destroyed mine." She sat down, tucking her legs to her side and playing with the grass by her feet. "You were always too good for me. You were always meant to be a hero." She smiled softly at the name on the grave beside his. "I'm glad you found her. I wish I could have met her. She must have been amazing. And your son, he really lives up to the hype. You must be so proud of him. You've always been my hero, James."

As Vivian was talking, Fox stepped out of his taxi and walked swiftly to Krystal. "She find her friend?"

"Yeah... she asked for a moment alone."

Fox looked around with a sad glint in his eye. "My parents are buried here."

"I know." Krystal said. Her expression quickly changed to alarmed.

"Do you mind if I...?"

"Fox, I don't think that's a good idea at this moment..."

"Why?" He glanced in the direction of his parents' grave. "Is there something wrong?" He took a step, but Krystal grabbed his arm.

"Vivian wants to be left alone, Fox."

He looked at her. "No, don't tell me she's..." He ran towards his father's grave and stopped short, ears twitching. His first impulse was to be furious, but he paused just long enough to hear her speaking.

"You've always been my hero, James. I can't thank you enough for helping me... I'm sorry for who I've become. I will never stop being sorry for the things I've done. I wish that when you looked down, you could be proud of me. If it's the last thing I do, I will do something good. I'm going to work with your son to bring Tony down. I  _will_  stop him." Fox's eyes widened. "And, I know you know this... but your son is a hero, like you. And he's found a girl. My own sister, wouldn't you know it? Of all the people in the galaxy, he found her. It's almost a good thing the adoption didn't work out, yeah? And she is absolutely wonderful. I tried for years to hate her, and at every turn she impressed me with her kind heart. It made me hate her more at times, but I've finally realized my mistakes. And she really loves him, and oh boy... he is  _so_  in love with her. They're taking on the world together. They're going to save Cerinia. You should be proud."

Fox clenched his jaw at the salty water that stung his eyes.

Krystal stepped up behind him and touched his arm. "Are you okay?" She asked quietly.

"Yeah... I..." He took her hand and walked away from the grave, attempting to discreetly wipe away his tears. "I thought that she... I thought I was going to be angry with her. I didn't realize she actually knew my father."

"She lived an entire different life. It's complicated to explain... She was born here, around the same time as your father, probably."

"Well, she looks good for her age."

Krystal elbowed him. "That's my  _sister._ "

"Any time you'd like to explain how that happened..."

"I'm trying. Shut up. She grew up on Corneria. It seems unlikely, but your father was a kind man. She grew up on the streets. Don't you think he could have had contact with her somehow?"

"You know, now that I think about it... he told me about his childhood a few times. The adoption thing happened with some girl named Angie. Supposedly, he rescued her off the streets when he was young, and his parents wanted to adopt her. Legalities got in the way, and she was put back into the foster system. He never saw her again. She tried to contact him once when he was about twenty, in some hotel, but the secretary of the building turned her away, thinking she was just a crazy fan. By the time my dad got all the way down there to see her in person, she was gone. But the description is all wrong. Angie was a tabby. And her name was Angie, not Vivian."

"Angie... like... Angel?" Krystal asked.

"Yeah, actually... her real name  _was_  Angel."

"I think... I think that might have been her. She said her first name was Angel. Oh my god." She ran her fingers through her hair with wide eyes. "Fox, when I was on Cerinia... I was engaged to Tony. And I'm now fairly certain he slept with my sister in that time."

He scratched his neck. " _Wow_. And that's the guy you were going to marry?"

"I heard him, one night, in his sleep. He was having a dirty dream... and he called out for  _Angel_. When I questioned him about it he got all weird, and I got the feeling he'd had an affair. Why didn't I remember that before?" She wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Angel was Vivian. My own sister!"

"You know...  _I_  would never do that..."

She grinned and elbowed him. "I am going to be so pissed with him next time I see him. My  _sister_! That's disgusting." She scoffed.

"I'm sorry... that's really terrible."

"So, Angel grows up on Corneria... James becomes her friend, almost her brother, and then her idol. She runs away and crashes on Cerinia, where a Guardian finds her almost dead. He saves her by putting her soul into the body of baby Vivian. Vivian gets banished because our mom can't have more than two children. She ends up killing our mother, somehow, by accident. I've yet to discover exactly how that happened. Of course, my father hated her. He never spoke of her, save once, in his sleep. Kevin mentioned her once or twice, leaving out the whole  _blood relative_ thing. They didn't want me to know about her. She then causes, or takes part in, the destruction of the entire planet."

"I wish I could know exactly what took place in between those events, because that's kind of a jump. From being my father's friend to genocide?"

"She was the outcast of the village. I imagine there was a bit of a grudge there. She blamed me for everything bad that happened to her."

"So, then she teams up with Tony..."

"Tony? No, that happened  _before_  Cerinia's death."

"Oh, right." He bit his tongue.

"She leaves Cerinia, and becomes evil. Then she teams up with..." Krystal paused, giving him a sideways glance.  _Tony? Is that what he's been hiding from me?_  "She partners up with someone evil, once she learns I'm still alive. And it becomes their mission to destroy me."

"Well, let's see what we know about the bad guy. His brother is Con. He's close with Vivian. He wants you dead, but he doesn't want you to know who he is."

"Right."

"Well, since Con is his family, what do we know about Con? He's in love with  _you_. He wants to protect you. He tends to show up when you're in trouble, and then mysteriously vanish..."

"Do you know?" Krystal asked. "You know who it is, don't you...?" It was more of a statement than a question.

Fox was silent.

"You know who's trying to kill me. How long have you known?"

"Look, I don't know for certain. I have my suspicions, but I don't have any real proof."

"Tell me who."

"I can't."

"Why?"

He sighed. "Because if I am wrong..." He shook his head. "I can't make such a strong accusation without proof. But I promise you, the minute that I get proof of who it is, who it  _really_  is, you will be the first one I tell."

She stared at him for a few minutes. "I'm getting really tired of you hiding things from me."

"I'm sorry..."

"Do you not trust me?" She asked.

"I do trust you. I trust you with my life. But there are some things I can't tell you right now. I can't risk being wrong about this."

Krystal shook her head and turned away. "When you're ready to be honest with me, Fox, we'll talk. Until then... I don't know." She walked towards the cab. "Make sure Vivian gets to the hotel. Goodnight, Fox."

He watched as she left, clenching his fist.  _I'm sorry... I'm sorry I have to keep hiding things from you. When this is over, I promise... I'm never hiding anything from you again._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Vivian's life and tragic past is detailed in Prelude to an End.


	35. Drugged

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Rape

Krystal sat alone in her hotel room at the edge of the couch with her knees tucked up to her chest, angry and sad at the same time. It hurt her deeply that Fox didn't trust her. It hurt her further to have to distrust him because of it.  _Fox... why don't you trust me?_  She mulled over their conversation, again and again.  _He knows who's trying to kill me. He knows who Cloaky is. But he won't tell me. Why?_

She took a deep breath.

_"Let's see what we know about the bad guy. His brother is Con. He's close with Vivian. He wants you dead, and he doesn't want you to know who he is."_

_Yes, that's true._

_"Well, since Con is his family, what do we know about Con? He's in love with you. He wants to protect you. He tends to show up when you're in trouble, and then mysteriously vanish..."_

_What are you getting at, Fox?_ She sat for a moment with her eyes closed, concentrating.  _Tony. Tony showed up at the hospital, and then immediately vanished. But he... the others can see him. He can't be Con. Con can only be seen when he stops time. And he has a bad wound._ The idea struck her like a brick to the face.  _What if it's Tony? But... why would he want to kill me? His brother... Connor. Of course, Con. That part makes sense. But Tony? He's a jerk sometimes, and a slimy cheating asshole, but murder?_

She stood up and paced back and forth in the room. "No... he wouldn't."

She picked up the hotel phone and dialed his number.

"Hello?"

"Tony?"

"Speaking."

"It's Krystal."

"Oh, thank God. I've been so worried about you! I heard you were in the hospital. Are you doing okay?"

"Yes... I'm in perfect health."

"I'm so glad you called. I've been beside myself with worry!"

 _See? Not Tony. No way._ She sighed softly in relief. "Are you free?"

"Right now? It's...almost one in the morning."

"Oh... Sorry. I lost track of time. Did I wake you?"

"No, not at all."

"I just wanted to talk, that's all. Sorry. Another time."

"Well, I don't have anything do to tomorrow. Where are you?"

"I'm leaving tomorrow. I'm in a hotel."

"What hotel?"

"The... Luna, something."

"Luna Stone?"

"That's the one."

"Are you going to be awake in about a half hour?"

"Probably."

"I'll just come over for a bit. Don't fall asleep on me."

She smiled a little. "Thank you."

"Of course. I'll see you soon."

She hung up the phone.  _See? Nothing to worry about. Same old Tony._  But she couldn't shake the feeling that she was wrong.

In exactly twenty-eight minutes, there was a soft knock on her door. She took a breath and opened it. Tony stood in the hallway. At the sight of her, a huge grin spread across his face.

"Wow." He raised a brow at her, lingering his gaze on her scantily clad body.

She glanced down at her form-fitting tank top and boy-short underwear. "Oh, shut up. I almost married you. You've seen me in less clothes than this."

"True, but not for a while. I didn't think it possible, but you've grown more beautiful," he said as he walked past her.

"Knock it off, you." She closed the door. "I have an odd question."

"What is it?"

"Did you visit me in the hospital?"

He sat down on the stool at the kitchen bar-counter and gave her a questioning look.

"No, okay. I wasn't sure if it was a dream," She lied.  _I know it wasn't a dream... this points to Connor being Con_. She paced down the hallway and leaned on the kitchen counter, opposite him. "So, I've done some thinking, and I've also discovered a few things."

"Such as?"

"You slept with my sister."

The smile vanished from his face. He cleared his throat self consciously. "Wow... you don't beat around the bush."

"No, not when it's something like that. Care to explain yourself?"

He swallowed nervously, stalling while his mind raced for explanations. "I... I really have nothing good to say about that. It was a mistake. I had been led to believe that you and my brother had done something, so I... I acted on an impulse. A stupid one, at that. You can't imagine how awful I felt about it afterwards."

"Not awful enough to confess."

"I didn't want to cause you unnecessary pain, you see, I wasn't going to do it again and I didn't think you'd ever find out."

"It seems everyone in my life right now is so concerned with what pain they  _might_  cause me by just being honest. And quite honestly, I would prefer that pain over the pain of being lied to."

"Honestly? I had forgotten about it. It meant almost nothing to me."

Krystal nodded slowly. "I heard you saying her name in your sleep." He was silent. "On more than one occasion."

He shook his head. "Look, all I can say is that I'm sorry."

"Well, good. You should be."

( **Meanwhile...** )

Fox jolted awake, startled by the sharp knocking sound. He rolled over, squinting at his clock, and then slowly sat up.  _The hell does anyone want me up at one thirty in the damn morning for?_ _  
_

The knocks came again, more frantic this time.

"All right, I'm coming." He stood up, still in his boxers, and rubbed his eyes as he reached for the knob. "What is it?"

"Can I come in?" It was Tony. He stood in the hall, dressed in a black hoodie and loose jeans.

"Uh... sure, Tony." Fox was now not only half awake, but in a bad mood. "What do you want?"

"I'm not..." The vulpine started to raise his voice, but took a deep breath instead. "I'm not Tony."

Fox gave him a hard stare.

"I'm his brother. My name is Connor. You knew me as Con."

"I fucking knew it!" Fox exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air.

"Sh! Keep it down. They're in the room over."

"Who?"

"Krystal and my brother."

Fox's hand balled into a fist. "If he harms a hair on her head..."

"The two of us are right here, ready to stop him."

"Please tell me I'm not dreaming. You're really Con?"

The hooded fox held out his hand and created a light blue force field for show. "I came into contact with the stone and an electric current. I'm fully alive now. Unfortunately, that means I can't stop time anymore, and everyone can see me. I followed Tony here. I don't know what his intentions are, but knowing him, they aren't good."

"He's really the one who's been trying to kill her?"

"Yes."

"I knew it. I knew there was a better reason I hated him."

"You mean besides the jealousy?" Connor chuckled. "That never goes away, no matter how many other reasons you have to hate him."

Fox nodded slowly. "I get that."

"I hate to ask this of you... but when you do get your hands on him, don't kill him."

"Are you being serious?"

"Unfortunately. I'm allowed to be a little bit selfish. If he dies, I'll die, and I'm not ready to go out just yet."

"I have some bad news," Fox began. "We're heading out for Cerinia tomorrow."

"Ah, right. The temple." Connor hung his head slightly. "That's another story. If it's by the means of saving Cerinia, please kill him. Just... not before then."

"Why not?"

"Like I said... if he dies, I'll die. It's how I ended up with the ghosting ability in the first place. I died, Fox. I was slashed across the stomach. My soul left my body. My heart stopped. I was dead, but so was Tony. And Vivian at the time had the stone. She brought him back to life using it, but she couldn't keep him alive without me. It pulled me to him, but they didn't want me alive. She brought Tony back again, and as he lay dying, she slowly drained life into me until it was just enough to keep him from dying. I was in between life and death."

"But how...?"

"Tony and I were once the same person. The same way that Vivian is both Angie and Vivian. Our past life was a man named Tomas on Cerinia. When he died, the Guardians panicked. Tomas was supposed to be destined for greatness, or something. They took his soul and threw it towards the closest newborn. It was Tony and I.  _We_  were the newborn. The soul split. We are two halves of one soul."

Fox chuckled. "Good and evil. Some say they're different sides of the same coin. In your case, they're two sides of the same soul."

"That's one way to see it. Either way, we can't be separated. If one of us dies, we both will. And like I said, I don't want to die just yet."

"I understand that feeling." Fox sat on the edge of his bed, facing the door that connected his room with Krystal's. "What's Tony's real name, anyways? It's got to be short for something."

"Anton."

"Right, makes sense. I heard Vivian call him that, I just had to be sure. Funny, even his name sounds evil." He joked. "So... I don't know a lot about Krystal's past. But I know you were in it, and Tony as well. But Krystal didn't even remember your name."

Connor smiled reminiscently. "It's complicated. Tony was always the more violent brother. I always had to do what he said, because he would beat me if I didn't. I know there's the whole, we're twins, we're the same size thing, but I was young and scared. Tony always liked Krystal. I did, too. I mean, she's beautiful. When they were old enough, he courted her. But his side of the soul didn't really get the whole, tact thing. He was always saying stupid things and being angry, and upsetting her. She, like most people, had a hard time telling the difference between he and I. So he started sending me to apologize to her, and make up for him."

"That's a lousy move."

"Yeah, well... he didn't want to lose her. After a while of that, she found out. She was furious with me, and with him. He almost lost her again. Around that time, her father started training her in telepathy. She got good enough to tell us apart, but Tony still tried to send me to apologize. She's not stupid, though. She knew it was me. We grew close... But then her sixteenth birthday came." He took a deep breath. "Something happened between her and I. And the next day, Tony read her mind and found out. He went into a rage."

"But he's not telepathic."

"Not anymore, no. He used to be. He was so angry that he committed a forbidden act among telepaths. He destroyed her mind. He took every memory she had of me and crushed it, and he very nearly destroyed her in the process. I had to put her mind back together... The Guardians were furious with Tony, and they took away his telepathy. The power comes from the soul, though, and they took away mine too. She doesn't remember being with me. She doesn't remember all of the talks we had, or the fun we had, or getting to know me."

Fox clenched his fist at thought of Tony hurting her and lifted his knuckle to his lips.

"Do you see now, why I had to keep my identity hidden from her? She barely remembers that I exist. She would think that I am Tony. And after he revealed himself, she would side with him and not me. I'm just this weird guy that kinda scared her once by knowing too much about her."

"I don't think she'd side with the person trying to kill her."

"He wouldn't come out and say he's the one trying to kill her. He would accuse  _me_  of it, and tell her he's the one protecting her. She would believe him."

"Okay, but she's a telepath. Can't she tell you guys apart?"

"Not exactly. When the Guardian took away our telepathy, she made sure we wouldn't be vulnerable. Both Tony and I have strong mind blocks. If we control our emotions properly, it's impossible for even a telepath to tell us apart."

Fox nodded. "At last, it all makes sense. So... why are we just here waiting?"

"We're listening. I'm giving him one last chance not to be evil. If I hear anything from the room that sounds like a struggle, I'm busting down the door."

"Any chance that if he leaves without incident, you'll help me explain to Krystal that her ex-fiance is the one who tried to kill her?"

"None whatsoever."

"Great." Fox stared at the door for a moment. "Are we going to be able to hear through the walls? Hotels these days have really good insulation."

Connor stood up. "Open the door on your side."

Fox unlocked the hand print scanner and opened the door. Connor stood and pressed his ear to it.

"What do you hear?" Fox asked.

"Back up. I'm breaking it down."

( **Meanwhile...** )

Krystal walked to the sink for a glass of water.

"Here, let me get that." Tony said, getting a second glass and taking hers from her hand.

She walked around to the other side and sat at the stool. "I'm sorry to have called you all the way here just for that. You're being a terrific sport about it."

"No, that's fine." He chuckled, handing Krystal her glass. "I'd be pissed too if I found out something like that."

She took a long drink of water, and then held the glass at waist level. "I've been doing some thinking... and I think you and I are better off as friends."

"What?"

"Things got really complicated. For a while, I thought you'd died, and then I thought you died a second time. I moved on. I still care about you, but not like I used to."

His expression had become serious. "What are you saying?"

"You and Fox asked me to choose who I'd rather be with romantically. I'm choosing Fox."

"He lied to you."

"You cheated on me."

Tony's hands curled into fists. "That was years ago."

"Yes, it was. It was also years ago that I was in love with you. I'm not anymore."

It was then that Tony snapped. His open palm flew through the air, colliding in great force with the side of Krystal's face. She gasped, holding her stinging cheek and staring at him with wide eyes. The glass of water in her fingers slid to the ground and shattered.

He grabbed her by the shirt and threw her across the room. She stumbled and rolled to the floor, still shocked that he had slapped her. She turned around and threw a kick at him, but he caught her leg in mid-air instead, and used it to drag her across the carpet.

Her head was spinning. She kicked his shin with her other leg. He flinched and leaned down to pick her up. She threw a punch at his face, but he grabbed her wrist and held it in a vise-like grip. "Let me go!" She cried, slapping him with her free hand.

He grabbed her other arm and then pulled her to her feet. "I'm tired of this game. This ends tonight."

"What are you talking about?! Let go of me!" A wave of white energy surged from her body in defense.

Without even flinching, he absorbed it. His eyes took on a slight red glow. "You can't save Cerinia. You won't. I am here to make sure of it and even if I don't have it in me to kill you, I will destroy your spirit. Only the pure of heart can enter the temple, and I will destroy yours." He threw her onto the bed, and it was then she realized what his plan was.

She scrambled to get away from him, but her body seemed reluctant to obey her. He grabbed and handful of her hair and yanked her head around, burying her face in the pillows. She screamed.  _What's going on? Why can't I fight back?_

He grabbed her shirt and yanked, hard enough to leave marks on her skin and tear off the fabric. She writhed beneath him, kicking her heels up in attempt to hit him. Her kicks grew weaker and slower, until she couldn't lift her feet up at all. He ripped her underwear off, and then she started to cry. She screamed something unintelligible into the pillow and flailed her arms. He crushed her body beneath his and whispered directly into her ear, "The less you fight me, the faster it'll be over."

She reached up and grabbed his ear, yanking downward as hard as she could. His grip on her hair loosened, and she turned her head to gasp for air, directly next to his face. "When I get up, I'm going to kill you myself."

He laughed, and she twisted his ear as hard as she could. Her fingers wouldn't cooperate.

"What's...what's going on? What did you do to me?" She could feel her muscles slowly relaxing.  _He put something in my water! Oh god..._ _  
_

As soon as her grip lessened, he jerked his head away and reasserted his grip on her hair. "You're not going to get that chance. I'm going to make sure you stay awake for this, because I want you to feel everything. The drug I put in your water takes away your ability to control your muscles, but not your ability to feel them. When I'm done, I'm going to just walk away, and you'll have no choice but to lay there and let me."

Krystal screamed, and he buried her face back in the pillows. Her shoulders shook with sobs. His fingers trailed slowly along her bare back.

He leaned back up to whisper in her ear. "Oh, I've waited so long for this..." He stuck out his tongue and dragged it along the side of her face. He leaned back and released her hair, and she heard the sounds of his belt unbuckling.

_Help me! Fox, please! If you can hear me..._

There was a loud bang behind her, and she could feel Tony tense up. Suddenly, his weight was lifted off of her. She turned her head and gasped for air, unable to move her arms or legs.

"You piece of shit!" Fox yelled. He shoved the larger vulpine into the wall and delivered a vicious punch to the jaw.

Tony shoved his rival away and stood ready, with his arms spread, beckoning. Fox darted forward.

"No, don't!" Krystal cried.

Tony ducked to the side and tripped the mercenary, sending him tumbling on the floor. He then leaped down and straddled him. Fox threw up his arms in defense of his face as Tony threw punches.

Fox planted his feet in the floor and thrust his body violently upwards, dumping the other male forward to the floor. He curled his knees to his chest and then threw his weight out, jumping back to his feet and turning around just in time to see Tony draw a knife. He dodged several angry swipes, stepping back until he hit the wall. He rolled to the side as Tony lunged straight forward, embedding the knife in the wall. Fox leapt into the air and threw a perfectly aimed roundhouse kick, dropping Tony to the floor.

Tony rolled, but not fast enough. Fox's foot slammed into his gut, shooting pain throughout his body. He kicked him a second time for good measure.

Then the mercenary grabbed his foe by the shirt collar, lifting him off the ground, and slammed his back against the wall. "You disgust me." He sneered. "You'll never touch her again, you hear me?"

"Or what?" Tony smirked a bloody smile.

"I _. Will._ End you." Fox spoke slowly, the tone in his voice conveying the seriousness. He drew back his fist and slammed it into Tony's temple, knocking him out cold. He turned to Krystal, who hadn't moved. "Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yes!" She said. Her head was turned away, but he could hear the tears in her voice.

"Give me a minute." He took off Tony's already unbuckled belt and used it to bind the his hands behind his back, and then he dragged the unconscious vulpine into his room, into the closet, and slammed the door.

He turned to Connor, who was hiding behind the counter in case Krystal came in. "Take care of him. If I see him again, I'm going to kill him." He said quietly.

Connor nodded.

"Don't let me find him in my closet later. I'm not kidding." He took a breath to calm himself. "If I see him again, I  _will_  murder him."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -awaits crowd cheering for Fox-


	36. Truth

Fox walked cautiously up to Krystal. She was lying face down on her bed, completely naked. He had expected her to have moved by the time he returned. "Are you okay?" He asked.

"I can't move..."

He clenched his fist. "He drugged you, didn't he?"

"I went to get water, and he insisted... on getting it himself."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" He asked, standing awkwardly beside the bed. He stared at the ground in attempt to keep from staring at her.

Tears filled her eyes. "Don't leave me alone."

"Okay..."

"I... I can't move."

"It'll be all right. Whatever he gave you will wear off in a few hours."

"I don't have any clothes on... and it's really hard to breathe like this."

"Okay... Uh... I can... I can roll you over and then cover you. How's that?"

"I don't really have a choice in what happens to me right now."

Fox gently took her by the shoulders and rolled her onto her back. Averting his eyes from her body, he folded the sheet over her. "Is that better?"

"Much...thank you."

"May I sit?"

"I won't stop you."

He sat on the edge of the bed, facing away from her. "I'm sorry..."

"For what?"

"This. I should have come in sooner. I knew he..."

"You knew all along it was him..."

He sat quietly.

"How did you know he was here?"

"Con."

"Why didn't Con help stop him?"

Fox stared at the door for a few seconds. "He clued me in that Tony was here, in case something happened. Con is... Connor. Tony's brother. Tony is the guy in the cloak. He's the one who's been trying to kill you. Con was afraid that Tony would lie, and you'd be on the wrong side."

"Well, after what I just witnessed, I don't think he has that to fear anymore."

"He said you used to be close."

"No, I don't think so. Connor and I never really talked."

"He said you wouldn't remember. Tony did something to your memory."

"What?"

"Tony used to be a telepath, right?"

She frowned. "He did. He was never very good at it. One day he just... couldn't do it anymore."

"Connor said one day Tony got pissed off at the two of you. He erased all of your memories of Connor. As a punishment, his telepathy was taken away."

She was quiet for several minutes. "He would have been put to death for that... but it almost makes sense... The one time I remember talking to Connor, I felt too trusting towards him. As if he wasn't a stranger. I felt the same way towards Con, but of course, now I find they're the same person."

"You really have no memory of Connor?"

"Hardly any. Just a feeling, as if I know him and trust him."

"I didn't even know telepaths could do that."

"It's forbidden. No one is taught how to do it anymore, and those who do it are punished by death... I don't know why Tony wasn't killed."

"Con and Tony are connected. They share the same soul. It was split. They each have half of it. If Tony dies, so does Con. Whoever deals the judgement must have not wanted Con dead."

"The Guardians." Krystal suggested.

"Who are the Guardians, anyways?"

"I don't know much about them. They created Cerinia, and they're very powerful. Something happened to them, and they lost their power, and then Cerinia became vulnerable. It wasn't long before the village was destroyed."

"How was it destroyed? If... If you don't mind me asking."

Krystal was silent for a moment. "I'd rather not talk about it."

"Sorry." The air fell quiet except for their breathing. "Are you feeling any better?"

"I can move my fingers again. It's tough to tell what I can move and what I can't, because I haven't lost any feeling. He said he wanted to make sure I felt..." She trailed off.

Fox clenched a fist. "If I ever see his face again, I'm going to kill him."

"You'll kill Con."

"I warned him. If he values his life, he'll make sure Tony doesn't come near me or you ever again."

Krystal reached a hand over and softly touched his shoulder. "Thank you..."

He glanced at her and smiled slightly. "I don't know what I would have done if he'd gone any farther..."

"He told me that only the pure of heart can enter the temple of Cerinia. That rules out him and Vivian, and since he and Con share the same soul, it probably rules out Con. He wanted to destroy my spirit... I'm the only one who can enter the temple."

"I entered the Krazoa shrines..."

"Yes, but the Krazoa shrines weren't filled with air that will kill you. You're not coming to Cerinia, Fox. Ever."

"Sorry. It was a suggestion." He cleared his throat. "Do you mind if I ask why Tony was here?"

"I called him. I told him to come over. I wanted to tell him in person that I'd made my decision."

"Oh... well, I hope you're reconsidering that decision..."

She gave him a confused look, pushing herself up on her arm. "What do you mean?"

"Well, after what he just did, I don't think you still want to be with him... right?"

A smile subtly crept along her face. "Fox... you idiot. I chose you."

He opened his mouth to reply, and then closed it again and blinked in surprise. "You did?"

She pulled his torso down on the bed and kissed him on the mouth.

He hardly seemed to notice. "You... you chose me?"

She giggled. "Yes, silly."

He sat up again and faced her. "Does that mean I can kiss you again?" She smiled at him and nodded. He took her face in his hands and kissed her deeply. "You have no idea how much I've missed that." He kissed her again.

"Do you know what I've missed?" She asked, glancing at the black clip. He had stuck it to the rim of his underwear.

"What?"

She reached over and plucked it off, tossing it across the room. "You." Her eyes closed and she grinned widely as his presence flooded her mind.

He leaned over and kissed her again, taking her hand in his as his tongue flicked inside of her mouth. He broke away to stare at her face for a moment.

She glanced towards his room. "Are they gone?"

"I assume so."

"Do you mind if I sleep in your room? I'm... not really looking forward to staying the rest of the night here."

"Of course. I'll straighten out the bed." Fox got up and walked into his room, assuming that she would dress herself while he fixed the sheets. He glanced towards the doorway and his eyes nearly bulged out of his skull.

She leaned on the frame, completely nude, with one arm across her chest and one leg crossed to hide herself.

"I-I...uhh...f-fixed the...bed." He stammered, doing his best not to stare.

"Thank you, Fox." She pressed up against him and kissed him softly, and then crawled beneath the sheets.

He swallowed nervously and climbed in the other side. Her soft skin caressed his body as she wrapped her arm across his chest and slipped her leg over his. He slid his arm around her shoulders and held her close.

"Goodnight, Fox." She said quietly.

"Goodnight, Krystal." He closed his eyes and kissed her forehead.

She tilted her chin up and softly kissed his lips. She lingered for several seconds.

Fox leaned into her, rolling onto his side and kissing her deeply. Her hands slowly felt down his muscular torso, and she used his strong back to pull her body up against his. 

His hand rested on her waist. She placed her palm over it and slid it down between her thighs. He felt for her clit with his thumb and began to gently rub in a circular motion while teasing the lips with his fingertips. She broke the kiss with a gasp.

"Fox, I... I haven't stopped thinking about that shower..."

He blushed, grinning sheepishly. "Is that what this is about?" 

She kissed him roughly as he applied slightly more pressure with his thumb, causing her legs to twitch with every rotation. He propped himself up on his free arm and then moved on top of her, nudging her onto her back. She moaned in pleasure as he slid his middle finger into her. He pulled it against her in a rapid succession of curling motions.

She ran her fingers through his hair and balled her hand into a fist, using the handful of fur to shove his face downwards. He moaned eagerly, covering her muff with his lips and vigorously working his tongue while keeping a steady motion with his finger. She cried out in bliss, pushing on the back of his head to drive his mouth harder onto her. His ring finger joined his middle and he shoved them in until his knuckles were tightly pressed against her. 

Her noises grew higher in pitch as she quivered in pleasure.

The orgasm hit her hard, ravaging her body in ecstasy. Her legs braced together so hard that Fox feared for a moment she might crush his skull. Her fingers gripped his hair and her back arched, lifting her shoulders from the mattress. Her mouth hung open in a silent scream. A small squeak escaped her throat. She gasped in after several seconds and cried out.

Her body fell limp into the mattress, legs trembling still as Fox sat back. "Tha-...that was amazing." She panted.

He crawled up beside her and kissed her cheek with moist lips. She turned to him, looking into his eyes. With a glance at his lips, she lurched forward and kissed him ferverously. Her hands pinned his down to the mattress as she mounted his torso. She broke the kiss and bit into the tender muscle on the side of his neck. 

He groaned in a mixture of pain and pleasure. She kissed down his chest, stopping to playfully lick his nipple. He flinched, laughing nervously. She grabbed the waistband of his boxer-briefs and tugged them down to his knees. 

He blushed hard, resisting the impulse to cover his nakedness. He was far from poorly-endowed, but he felt his size was nothing to brag about. It distinctly curved up rather than sticking straight out. Fully erect, his tip fell just short of his bellybutton. Krystal dragged her nails down along his chest, leaving trails of red skin behind them. He gasped and raised his chest a bit, and his dick twitched slightly as she stopped.

In one smooth motion, she licked from the base to the tip. 

Fox shuddered in arousal. She covered the tip with her mouth and flicked her tongue across it a few times to see how he'd react. From the quiet grunts and twitches, she gathered that he was enjoying it. Little waves of pleasure flowed from his mind, and the feeling was addictive. Taking his shaft in her hand to hold it steady, she lowered her mouth over it as far as she could without gagging. He moaned audibly. She brought her lips back up to the tip, leaving wet saliva in their wake. Her eyes met his and she crawled up to kiss him.

He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight against him, returning her kiss with passion. She rolled her hips forward, grinding her sweet spot over his exposed cock.

His arms pushed against her suddenly, and she wondered if she'd done something wrong. In a single fluid motion, he flipped her onto her back and rested his knees between her thighs. His lips kissed down along her neck and stopped at her perky breasts. He cupped the left one in his hand, squeezing gently as he licked up and over her nipple. He pinched it ever so softly between his teeth, drawing a quick sough from her lips.

His hands went to her thighs, pulling them up around his waist as he felt along her soft legs. Her eyes met his for a moment, and she thought her heart might burst from the sudden flow of affectionate feelings. She pulled his face up to meet hers and kissed him willfully. Her teeth clamped onto his lower lip and she dug her nails into his back. He inhaled sharply and froze, holding his breath as her nails slowly dragged down his back. The slightest whimper escaped as he finally exhaled.

"If you don't stop," he began in a quiet, airy voice, "I don't know that I can hold back much longer."

She wrapped her arms around his chest and pulled herself up, pressing her breasts against his bare skin and whispering in his ear, "Then don't."

He shoved her down into the mattress, lustfully biting into the exposed tendons on her shoulder as he reached down with one hand to properly line himself up. She clutched his shoulders as he nudged in, biting her lip against the sudden pressure. He pushed his lips against her cheek as he eased in. She was warm, wet, and tight. It was all he could do to not immediately spend himself as he began rhythmically pumping. 

He kept his body close to hers, panting near her ear. She struggled with the pain for a moment, but it quickly turned to euphoria. The closeness she felt with him was something she had longed for in the past weeks. Feeling him thrust so deeply was overwhelming. Heat spread from her chest to her limbs like a wildfire, and her muscles contracted around his girth in spasm.

"Oh, fuck!" Fox grimaced and bit into the pillow beneath her head, screaming into it. The sensation of her orgasm was broadcast from her mind into his, and it was nearly too much for him to bear. He tensed up, demanding control over his body. The last thing he wanted right now was to risk a pregnancy, and her body seemed to be desperately begging for it. As her climax waned, he sat back towards the edge of the bed to catch his breath.

"Are you alright, Fox?" She asked.

"Oh, definitely." He said. "I, uh... you're.... fuck." He ran his hands through his hair. Her orgasm was still making his limbs shake a bit. "Phew. That was... intense. Does it always feel like that?"

She blushed.

"I mean, I... I want to keep going more than anything, but I only have so much self control and it took everything in me not to just... cum. Everywhere." He scratched the back of his neck nervously.

She giggled, shyly covering her face with her hand and crossing her other arm over her breasts. 

"I... I don't know if I can pull out fast enough when that happens again." He stood up suddenly. "Wait. I think I have a condom." He crossed the room to his duffel bag and dug through it frantically. Shortly after Krystal had joined the team, Falco had snuck into his room and slipped an entire strip of condoms into his clothes drawer. He never bothered to get rid of them, on the off chance that this exact chance would present itself to him. He had, however, opted to move them to a more hidden location. 

He stood from the bag, triumphantly holding up a wrapped condom. "Good ol' Falco." 

Krystal giggled at him as he quickly got the condom on and got back on the bed. 

"Sorry... not sexy, I know." He crawled over to her, gently spreading her thighs apart. She reached up and grabbed his arms, pulling him close to her to kiss him. He lined up a second time and delved into her, keeping a steady pace without difficulty. She scratched roughly down his back, drawing him to thrust harder. She moaned loudly, throwing her head back in pleasure.

Her gasps grew quick and audible, and her body began to tense with excitement.  "Ungh... Fox!" She cried. 

He grunted in effort, desperately attempting to hold back his climax. The first edges of her orgasm hit him, and he surrendered to it with a groan. Fire ignited his mind in a blinding heat that spread down his spine, electrifying his extremities. Euphoria engulfed him, flowing like electricity through his veins with each heartbeat. Her ecstatic scream echoed ethereally. For several seconds his senses were fully consumed with nothing but sheer, raw pleasure. He collapsed into her soft body, filling the condom with hot fluid.

It took several full minutes for him to recover enough to move. He rolled onto his back and carefully worked the condom off without spilling, knotting it like a balloon and dropping it into the small trash can next to the bed. He turned to her, but her eyes were closed. A lazy grin tugged at the corners of his face.  _I think I'm in love with her._

He slowly slid his hand over to hers and held it tenderly as he drifted into slumber.

( **The Next Morning...** )

Fox took a deep breath and stretched his arms out. His fingertips had gone numb, and his hand tingled as he flexed it. He turned his head towards his arm, unable to will his eyes open yet. His nose rustled into soft hair, and he opened one eye. He smiled at the sight of the blue colored head lying on his arm, and planted a soft kiss in her hair.  _I am in love with her..._

The blue vixen beside him moaned softly and rolled over, snuggling closer to his body and resting her head on his chest.

"Good morning..." He said in a sleepy voice.

She sighed happily and nuzzled his neck with her nose.

"Are you feeling okay?" He asked.

"Mmmm..." She kissed his neck and held him tighter.

He rested his chin on top of her head, feeling content.  _If I could choose a moment to last forever, it would probably be this one._

As if on cue, his communicator beeped from across the room where he'd set it.

He groaned through closed lips. "I hate to ask you to move, but that's probably important."

"Nnn-mm." She tightened her grip on him.

He smiled, kissing the top of her head. "I have to get that." She leaned her head up, eyes still closed, and kissed him softly on the lips. He slid out from beneath her and grabbed his communicator. "It's a message from Katt. She says if we want to get to Cerinia today, we should probably get going."

Krystal finally opened her eyes with a somber expression at the thought of everything that was about to change.

Fox sighed, frowning slightly at the look in her eyes. He sent a message back to Katt using the holographic keyboard, and then climbed back into bed with Krystal. "I told her we could leave in an hour." He kissed her forehead and pulled her into his arms. "Are you sure you're up for this right now?"

"I don't really have a choice." She snuggled against him, enjoying the feel of his skin against hers.

"I hate not being able to come with you. I want to make sure you're safe."

"I'll be okay. It's my home planet... I know it well. I'll be okay." She said it twice; once to assure him, and a second time to reassure herself. "Let's just not talk about it for now... I just want to be with you right now."

"Okay." He smiled slightly, holding her tighter. "I'm so glad you're here..."

She smiled back. "Me too."

"I can hardly believe you're lying naked in my bed."

She laughed. "Is it really so far fetched?"

"I mean... just yesterday, I thought I was losing you." He stared at her. "I thought you were going to choose him."

She shook her head with a grin. "I have given it a lot of thought... I've lived without him for a couple of years now. He cheated on me while we were engaged, with my own sister. He lied and bullied his brother into apologizing for him, instead of taking the responsibility himself. And I've never felt safe with him, as I feel with you."

He reached around to the nape of her neck, bringing her face close and kissing her forehead again. "I'm glad..."

"And after what he tried last night, there's not a chance in hell that I'd give him another chance."

"I'm sorry. I should have barged in sooner..."

"I'm glad you came when you did..."

He took a deep breath. "If you don't mind, let's change the subject. I'm getting pissed off just thinking about it." He held her tight for a moment. "I'm glad you're okay."

She leaned up and kissed him on the mouth. "You're a good man, Fox."

He kissed her deeply, holding her cheek in one hand and her waist with the other, and then pulled her on top of him. Her hands slid across his chest, over his shoulders, and along his arms until she reached his hands. He parted his lips from hers.

"Krystal, can I ask you a personal question?"

"Of course."

"It's just, I've been wondering since last night... Have you... had sex before?"

She opened her mouth to reply, but paused as the broken memory of that night surfaced again. She frowned. "I... I don't remember." She brought her hand to her forehead. "No, I... I could have sworn I did. I know I have. But... I can't remember him at all. I just remember being in my brother's cabin."

"Your brother?!"

"No!" Krystal's face flushed in embarrassment. "No, he wasn't there at all. It was someone else, of course. But I... I can't remember who, exactly."

"Did he... force you?"

"No, not at all. I initiated. I wanted to, I remember that much. But I... I can't remember anything else about it. I can't even remember his face! I remember leaving the next morning... and then I guess I blacked out. I woke up in my own bed. Do you think it was just a dream this whole time?"

"Well, Tony did mess with your memories. Maybe..." He paused. "Oh." _  
_

"What?"

"Ohh..." Fox chuckled. The realization suddenly made sense. "Con... He said you and him were close. Tony went into a jealous rage and that's why he erased your memories... You slept with Con!"

She raised her hand to her mouth. "Oh my god..."

"What?"

"No, it's just... that makes sense. That's why Con avoided me... that's why I saw him on Sauria.  _That's_  why he's been protecting me."

"What, because you slept with him?"

"I know it's different here, but on Cerinia, we're all at least somewhat telepathic. When a telepath mates with another telepath, a connection is made. It's... it's a spiritual connection. It can't be broken, even if you fall in love with and mate with other people in your life. You'll always be connected with that person. That's why he's followed me all this time... he never told me."

"Understandably, I don't think you'd believe someone you thought you'd never met."

"Sorry, this isn't a very sexy conversation."

He grinned. "That's okay. I don't mind."

She kissed him again, and he chuckled. "Something funny?"

"No, don't worry about it." He kissed her again.  _I would have won the bet anyways..._

She broke away, smile fading. "You... you made a  _bet_  on who could sleep with me first?"

His eyes widened. "No! That's not- that's not how it happened. I can explain."

"So last night was just... winning a bet to you."

"No!"

She shook her head slowly. "That's why you were lying to me. I can't even believe you could do something like that."

"Tony initiated the bet. I wasn't thinking clearly! I'd been drinking..."

"Clearly." She got up, pulling the sheet with her.

"Krystal, wait!"

"I don't want to talk to you right now. I am absolutely two seconds from never speaking to you again, so don't push it."

"I didn't mean-"

"Really?" She turned to look at him. "You made a bet over who could  _win_  me, as if I'm some sort of object and not a living being. And the deciding factor of who would win was who could get me into bed first?" Her head shook slowly. "I thought I meant more than that to you."

"You do! You mean so much more than that. Look, I'll talk to him then. I'll break off the bet. It doesn't mean anything to me now!"

"Why, because you won? If I was the prize, you haven't won anything."

"No, please... Krystal, don't leave!"

"I'm going to Cerinia. I'm going to save my people, and if by some stroke of luck I have a change of heart, I  _might_  come back. As of right now, I see no reason to leave there again."

"Krystal, I love you." He winced.  _That was_ not  _the right time to say that._

She froze for a moment, holding back tears. "Goodbye, Fox." She shut the door behind her and walked into her room. Tears filled her eyes as she dressed herself and exited into the hall. She knocked on the next door down.

Katt opened the door. "Krys? What's wrong?"

"I'd rather not talk about it. I want to ask if you'd like to come to Cerinia, but you'd be trapped there for a while. Falco can't come; the toxic air will kill him in a matter of hours."

"Isn't Vivian joining you?"

"I don't know..."

Katt stared down her teary eyed friend. "I'm going to stay behind on the Great Fox. I'll have Slippy work on something that will work past the atmosphere. As soon as I have a ship that will fly me safely away, I'll come get you."

Krystal shook her head. "As of right now, I don't plan on leaving."

"What happened?"

The vixen grimaced in a failed attempt to keep more tears from spilling.

Katt pulled her into a hug. "Sweetie..."

"No, I just... I have to go. I have to go now. Which room is Vivian's?"

"The next one from me. I'll come get you as soon as I can, okay?"

"Con has a stone that acts as a power source strong enough to work on Cerinia."

"Con?"

"Connor. If I see him, I'll tell him to give it to you."

"Okay."

"I'll see you around, Katt." The pink feline closed the door, and Krystal knocked on her sister's instead.

The dirty white furred cat opened the door, still harboring stains on her face from the charcoal disguise. "Are you leaving?"

"Yes."

"Where's everyone else?"

"They're not coming. I'll rent you a ship."

"A ship?"

"I'm going to Cerinia to stop Tony and save the village, and I'd like you to come with me."

"How are we leaving the planet after?"

"We aren't. Let's go."

Vivian nodded and closed the door behind her. The girls froze as Fox left his room.

He walked quickly to the elevator and pressed the button, glancing over at Krystal with eyes red from crying. "I'm going to make this right." He said.

She exchanged a glance with her sister as the elevator doors closed behind him.

"Did something happen?"

Krystal sighed. "It's complicated. He just... I feel used. I feel like he used me." She shook her head. "I don't know what he means by that, but by the fact that he's wearing that damned clip again, I can only assume he's about to get into more trouble."

"Do we follow him?" Vivian asked.

"I don't know..."

"You clearly care about him a lot. We'll follow him. Cerinia has waited this long, it can wait a few more hours."


End file.
